“If you are a lawyer unfamiliar with musical contracts, you have no business in a copyright infringement case.”ĪLSO READ: Busola Dakolo alleges plot to silence her rape case against Fatoyinbo However, Mr Igelige said that not every lawyer has a business with copyright cases. He said that COSON collects money from hotels or anywhere the public can access an artist’s work. Mr Igelige noted that there are organised bodies that regulate the copyright of Nigerian artists, such as the Copyright Society of Nigeria, COSON. Recently, Copyright infringement cases have continued to reoccur in the Nigerian entertainment scene. Therefore, the APC convention is a clear case of copyright infringement and a bridge on their intellectual property,” he said. “For the public performance of your work or to exhibit your career to the public, the organisers must seek the consent of the song’s owners. However, he maintained that the scenario of the APC convention does not fall under any exception. The lawyer further explained that some copyright laws exist as patents, trademarks, and trade secrets. ExceptionsĪccording to Mr Igelige, some exceptions exist to exercise the copyright laws. He said the purpose of copyright is to recognise the exceptional qualities of some individuals in society to protect them so they can create more. The University of Westminster-trained entertainment lawyer based in Warri, Delta State said that APC infringed on the artist’s copyright by using his work without permission. “It is also a notorious fact that the work is in a fixed medium,” Mr Igelige said. ![]() It is also a notorious fact that he put in sufficient efforts in creating it, thereby establishing that originality.” He further added, “According to the provisions of the copyright rights act, it is a notorious fact that Timi Dakolo owns the song. He said, “According to section one of the copyright act, subsection D, it is stated that to show that copyright subduces in a body of work, it must show that the work is original, and produced with sufficient effort by the originator and thirdly that the work is put into a fixed medium.” He wrote, “Why use an artist’s song without permission in a rally or campaign? The things people get away with in this country called Nigeria. ![]() The artist performed the same song during Atiku Abubakar’s declaration to run for the 2023 presidential election. However, Dakolo took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to announce that he was not consulted before they played his song at the event. Mr Dakolo’s hit song, ‘Great Nation,’ was played at the APC presidential primaries on Tuesday, when members of the Nigerian entertainment industry under the aegis of Ambassadors of Voice for Change appeared on stage to lend their voice to the call for peace and oneness in the country. The lawyer made this statement after Mr Dakolo called out the APC for using one of his songs during their national convention in Abuja on Tuesday, without asking for his consent. Mr Igelige said the public use of an artist’s body of work without the artist’s permission is a copyright infringement, as stated in the Copyright act 2004. ![]() The renowned lawyer made this statement during an exclusive interview with PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday. A prominent intellectual property rights lawyer, Rockson Igelige, has described the use of Timi Dakolo’s song at the recently held presidential primary election of the All Progressives Congress as an infringement of copyright laws.
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