[2017]DLHC3673 • April 6, 2017 • High Court
NMJ ENTERTAINMENT AND ANOTHER vs. RLG COMMUNICATIONS AND 3 OTHERS
The plaintiffs, NMJ Entertainment and another, claimed that the 2nd plaintiff, a musician, composed a song titled 'Wedding Day' under a management contract with the 1st plaintiff. They alleged that the defendant, RLG Communications, without authorization, adapted and sampled the instrumentals of the 'Wedding Day' song and used it as the default ringtone on their Android mobile phones, which were widely sold in Ghana and other African markets. The plaintiffs contended this unauthorized use infringed their copyright, diminished the song's market value, and deprived them of benefits. The defendant denied infringement, asserting that the ringtones were created by third parties and that they had no knowledge of any copyright violation.
read moreBy their writ of summons, the plaintiffs claim against the defendant the following reliefs: 1. Perpetual Injunction restraining the defendant by themselves or by their servants or agents or otherwise howsoever from further infringing the copyright of the plaintiff’s in the song ‘wedding day’. 2. GHS 200,000.00 being damages for copyright infringement on the basis of widespread distribution of plaintiffs’ ‘wedding day’ song. 3. General damages for breach of contract 4. Costs including legal fees. The case of the plaintiffs is that the 2nd plaintiff, a musician, composed a song called the ‘wedding day’. It is the contention of the plaintiffs that at the time the 2nd plaintiff composed the ‘wedding day’ song, the 1st plaintiff had a management contract with the 2nd plaintiff. It is the case of the plaintiffs that the defendant without authorization and consent of the plaintiffs made adaptations and sampling of the ‘wedding day’ song’s instrumentals u...