Could This Be the Beginning of the Copyright War?

The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)

27 May 2011

analysis

Last weekend news broke that rappers AY and Mwana FA had filed a law suit against a mobile phone operator for infringement of copyright laws demanding Sh4.3 billion.

In the suit, the rappers claim damages from the operator four unlawful use of their content as a caller tune which they sold to subscribers without their consent.

The artistes claim that since October last year to date, the mobile operator has been using and selling the caller tunes of their songs ‘Usije Mjini’ and ‘Dakika Moja’ in the process infringing patented work.

The musicians’ claims were vehemently brushed aside by the operator as they didn’t find any justification in the suit.

As the accusations and counter accusations continue with a legal battle waiting in the wings, there are certain questions more questions to the copyright woes in this country than answers.

If at all it is true that the operator used patented material without approval then the question is; how many incidences of this nature have gone unnoticed?

With the look at the nature of our artistes, it is an obvious guess that there are many out there yet to file suits and maybe this could be just the beginning.

AllAfrica – All the Time