KOFI TSEMAFO-ARTHUR vs ALEX BOATENG

Plaintiff mounted an action in the Registry of this Court on the 6th day of November, 2017 against the Defendant for the following reliefs:

i. The amount of GH¢50,000.00 being the economic rights due the Plaintiff from the Defendant for the Defendant’s reproduction of his song.

ii. Damages for infringement of copyright

iii. An order restraining the Defendant from further producing and/ or playing the Plaintiff's songs without Plaintiff's consent.

iv. Legal fees being 10% of the sum due the Plaintiff at the date of final payment.

v. Costs including filing fees

Case of Plaintiff

The Plaintiff is a Composer and a Musician with several tracks and albums to his name and resident in Accra. The Defendant is a musician resident in Ghana. The Plaintiff says that in or about ...... , he entered into an oral agreement with the Defendant under which the Plaintiff would perform some composition, descant and re-arrangement of some songs for the Defendant. The Plaintiff further says that pursuant to the said agreement, he composed the following songs “Ao, bra ma yendzi d3w” and “Hom ngye mi ndzi”. He also re- arranged the following songs, “Nyame w)h)” by Erasmus and “Anwanwa dwouma na oye,” and he also descanted the song “Sunsum so3r yi Nyame Ayew”. Plaintiff states that the Defendant only paid Gh¢50.00 for the composition of the 2 songs stated supra, with the promise of paying more money later but that has still not been done. Also, the Defendant has not paid any amount for the descant or re-arrangement of the songs by the Plaintiff. The Plaintiff avers that in or about 1987 he composed, recorded, and released a 16-track album entitled “Kokroko” which has been sold in and outside Ghana. Track number 3 on the said album is titled “Kokroko” and that the copyright in the said music was registered with the Copyright Office at Accra. The Plaintiff says that the Defendant has reproduced his “Kokroko” track; and is using the “Kokroko” title without the Plaintiff's knowledge, consent or license. The Plaintiff says upon discovering this copyright infringement, he instructed his lawyers to contact the Defendant and his management team to bring it to their notice of their clear infringement of his rights in the song and to attempt an out of Court settlement but all such attempts have proven futile.

The Plaintiff avers that since 2005, the Defendant has not paid any royalties for the work he did in respect of all the 5 songs. The Plaintiff says that since 2012, the Defendan