[1999]DLCA122 • December 23, 1999 • Court of Appeal
COPYRIGHT SOCIETY OF GHANA vs AFREH
The appellant, Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA), sought to enforce payment of royalties from members of the National Drinking Bar Operators Association of Ghana, represented by the respondent Kwame Afreh, for public use of musical works in drinking bars. The respondent contended that bar operators were not liable to pay royalties as they already paid purchase tax on banderole cassettes, income tax, and local fees, and did not stage concerts, thus payment would amount to double taxation.
read moreJUDGMENT OF TWUMASI JA. This is an appeal lodged by the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA) (hereinafter called the appellant) against the ruling of the High Court, Kumasi delivered on 3 October 1997 by which the court made an emphatic pronouncement that the appellant had no legal right whatsoever to enforce any payment of royalties or copyright fees against members of the National Drinking Bar Operators Association of Ghana in respect of their public use of any musical work in their drinking bars. The legal proceedings which culminated in the ruling being assailed were instituted by one Kwame Afreh who styled himself as the chairman of the Drinking Bar Operators Association of Ghana. Through the process of an originating summons issued out of the registry of the High Court, Kumasi on 21 August 1996 the plaintiff-respondent (hereinafter referred to as the respondent) formulated for the determination of the court the following questions: “(1) Whether the playing of a recorded .....