Following a plethora of judiciary decisions spanning from the Federal High Court to the Supreme Court in its favour, the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte (MCSN) has declared that its large repertoire of musical works, sound recordings and even audiovisual works as owner, assignee and the exclusive licensee is intact and therefore users of such works should be careful who they deal with over them.
In a virtual press conference with the media last week, the Chief Executive Officer of the Society, Mr. Mayo Ayilaran was emphatic that with the series of judicial pronouncements, no users of musical works can now hide under any excuse not to fulfill their copyright obligations to MCSN.
He was of the view that whatever claim a rival society (COSON, now defunct) may have had or still having, including licenses, contracts, assignments, royalty collections, distributions and in courts were illegal, null and void due to the series of court judgments that have unassailably confirmed the locus standi of the MCSN and the fact that such agreements were done while the decided cases were pending in the courts.
“Thus anyone still doing business with it (COSON) does so at his or her own peril,” He said.
In Suit No. FHC/L/CS/274/2010: Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte vs. Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte & Ors, the Federal High Court described the approval of COSON as an anomaly and ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to strike out the name of COSON from the Companies’ Register in Nigeria.
Ayilaran said; “The implication of this judgment on 25th March 2020 is that COSON never existed in law and anything that has been done in its name was illegal, null and void.”
“Aside the foregoing and assuming that if the case in MCSN vs. COSON & Ors had gone in favour of COSON, COSON would still have been caught with the requirement to be approved by the NCC as a CMO because it came into being after the establishment of the NCC and the enactment of the Copyright Act 2004 as implied in all the judgments of the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court stated in this chat. So all the muscle-flexing and claims being put up by the handlers of would still amount to naught in the end”
“The judgment also confirms MCSN’s complaints way back in 2009 that COSON’s formation was based on deceit and fraud, which was meant to illegally supplant. Both the National Assembly Resolutions and the directive of the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice underscored the underhand and inexplicable denial of approval to MCSN by the NCC.”
Alluding to the judiciary as the last hope of the common man, Mr. Ayilaran drew the attention of the general public and users of musical works and sound recordings, to two Supreme Court judgments in Appeals Nos: SC. 366/2008: Adeokin Records Co & Anor .vs. Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte delivered on 13th July 2018 and SC. 425: Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte vs. Compact Discs Technologies Limited & Ors delivered on 14th December 2018.
“The Supreme Court in the two judgments affirmed the right of MCSN to protect and sue for copyright in its repertoire without being approved or licensed as a collecting society or CMO. The judgment went further to analyze the applicability of Sections 17 and 39 of the Copyright Act 2004 to MCSN and declared that the sections do not apply to MCSN as the organization had already acquired its rights and status to operate prior to the establishment of the NCC and the enactment of the Copyright Act 2004 and that the sections of the Act cannot operate retroactively to affect MCSN,” Mr. Ayilaran analysed.
He buttressed the strong backing of the law MCSN’s operations by citing the recent Court of Appeal judgment in Appeal No. CA/L/188/2018: Multichoice Nigeria Limited vs. Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte delivered on May 29th, 2020, where the Appellate court upheld N5.9 billion damages against the cable outfit in favour of the Society.
“This judgment of the Court of Appeal affirms MCSN’s proprietary rights in musical works and sound recordings and to be duly compensated for the exploitation of the works by users such as Multichoice Nigeria Limited.The judgment also affirms the legal standing of MCSN and the right to act on right of action which it has acquired long before the NCC was established or the enactment of the Copyright Act 2004” He explained.
Continuing, he added; “The judgment considered nine issues out of which it resolved six in favour of MCSN and against Multichoice, two were struck out for being academic and want of jurisdiction and one was resolved equally between MCSN and Multichoice. The judgment went on to affirm the judgment of the Federal High Court in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/1091/2011: Multichoice Nigeria Limited vs. Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte delivered on 19th January 2018 and confirmed the award of damages in the sum of N 5.9 billion in favour of MCSN after varying the special damages to correct mathematical calculations on the single ground tabled for resolution by MCSN which was resolved in MCSN’s favour”.