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Tag: COSON

  • MCSN poaches COSON

    MCSN poaches COSON

    The newly approved Collective Management Organisation (CMO), the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN), has mooted the idea of a collaboration to rival body, the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON).

    In a letter dated May 26, the Chairman of MCSN, Orits Williki formally  informed COSON  about the approval of his society as a CMO by the Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC) following the directive of the Honourable Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN.

    “We are pleased to formally bring to your kind notice that following the directives issued by the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation of Nigeria and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, the Nigerian Copyright Commission has issued our organisation, the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria Ltd/Gte (MCSN), with the approval/license to operate as a collecting society for the purpose of the Nigerian Copyright Act,” the letter read.

    Continuing, the letter beckoned on the management of COSON to consider the possibility of collaboration and cooperation between both organisations for the mutual benefits of our individual members, affiliates and clients. MCSN further requested that in the spirit of the expected collaboration, COSON should render accounts for members of MCSN on whose behalf COSON collected royalties for the past seven years when it held sway as the sole collecting society in the country.

    “Meanwhile, quite a number of our members, affiliates and licensors have approached us demanding for the payment of royalties due to them from the collections which you have made for the exploitation of their works by broadcast organisations, telecommunications companies, hotels, bars and allied places and platforms in the past seven years. We therefore request as a matter of urgency, for an account of royalties collected and allocated by you to these and other members and affiliates of ours with remittance of due sum to us without delay,” the letter stated.

  • COSON vs MCSN: Clash gets messier as Ope Banwo lands in Lagos 

    COSON vs MCSN: Clash gets messier as Ope Banwo lands in Lagos 

    The supremacy battle between Copyright Society of Nigeria, COSON and the Musical Copyright Society in Nigeria (MCSN) assumed a messier dimension on social media over the weekend.

    Responding to a press conference granted by Chairman of COSON, Tony Okoroji, a board member of MCSN, Ope Banwo, who arrived Lagos from his America base, called Okoroji out on social media, questioning his grouse with the approval of MCSN as a rival Collective Management Organisation (CMO).

    Okoroji had alleged of a conspiracy by some officers in the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) to grant MCSN a licence to operate asca CMO.

    In a detailed Facebook post, Okoroji had said he was “aghast” to hear on April 3, 2017 that the AGF was about to grant a licence to MCSN, a move that he said will cause chaos in the industry.”I know the music industry and the copyright system in Nigeria enough to know that what I was hearing was a recipe for absolute commotion,” wrote Okoroji.”By such a decision, much of the progress we have made in the last several years which demanded relentless work would be wiped away. Our agreement with the broadcast industry negotiated over several years could become meaningless. The agreement with the hotel industry will suffer the same faith. Royalty income to thousands of artistes across Nigeria would evaporate. The body of decisions by the Federal High Court and the Court of Appeal on the Nigerian copyright system would have no meaning anymore. Question after question raced through my mind. How could the AGF have taken such a decision? Who advised him? Who did he consult? That night, I spoke with the AGF on the phone. It was clear to me that he had been told that the music industry would applaud such a decision! We agreed that I should come to Abuja on the first flight the next day so we could discuss the disturbing development.”

    Okoroji also stated that he was directed by the minister to work with Mr Sylvester Imhanobe, a Senior Assistant to the Minister and Chief Okoi Obono Obla, the President’s Special Assistant on Prosecution, to work together.

    He however, alleged that Imhanobe did not send a report.

    “On my enquiries, I found out that Chief Obla also never saw the report,” Okoroji wrote.

    “Months went by and I waited for something positive to happen for Nigeria’s creative industries. I even sent a reminder to the AGF and there was no reply. It is clear to me now that the process was hijacked and the AGF was given the impression that I was in support of the bizarre policies announced in his name!”

    Rather, Okoroji said he sent three uncomplimentary text messages on April 25 which he did not reply but forwarded to the minister.

    “Stupid fool. With your big fat head. I am told that you have not relent to say foolish things about me. Be careful, the law of libel will put you in control. Common adulterous man like you. Bastard!”

    “I understand you addressed a press conference today and my name is mentioned. Be ready to hear from my lawyers in a long drawn legal battle. I knew that you arrogant pride will bring your fall. Idiot.”

    “I have read your statements you made of me at your press conference. You will soon hear from my lawyers.”

    But Banwo, a lawyer and record label boss, had questioned why Okoroji’s COSON objected competition in collecting of copyrights. In a Facebook post titled ‘Tony Okoroji Vs Attorney General of the Federation? – some urgent questions for Tony Okoroji to answer’, Banwo wrote: “Personally I am appalled and shocked at the campaign of calumny and campaign of lies and misinformation that Tony Okoroji and his henchmen have decided to mount against the person and office of the Attorney General Of The Federation for licensing a second musical copyright collecting society in Nigeria, MCSN to compete against him and provide alternative options for millions of Nigerians.”

    Aside levelling the accusations, Banwo on Friday had called Okoroji to explain how he spent the over N300 million collected as copyright royalties on behalf of artistes to buy a building for COSON amidst a litany of questions?

    “Who authorized him to use Nigerian Artistes money to buy office building for cash instead of distributing it to the suffering musicians? How much is the building worth and how much was paid for this building in cash?

    “More importantly, when is the EFCC going to PROBE Toni Okoroji and the way he has managed COSON money? And when are the COSON Board going to probe him for spending artistes’ money recklessly without General Assembly approval?”

    Banwo also asked Nigerian musicians who have had their music played to ask Okoroji’s COSON for their money while he pursued the case.

    “As a stake holder and investor in the music industry, I will be forwarding a petition to EFCC and NCC to probe this questionable house purchase without due process of the bylaws under which he was granted Licence,” said Banwo

    “I will also be demanding a public statement of accounts showing how he distributed over N300, 000, 000 to artistes and how much was actually distributed.”

    Posting a video on Facebook Live where he went to COSON to make some of these enquiries, Banwo wrote later in a post that he “was almost mobbed” by COSON staff.

    “I am encouraging all Nigerian musicians to go to Okoroji’s page and ask him what he did with over N300, 000, 000 he has collected in royalties,” Banwo wrote.

    “How much percentage of that has he given to the artistes who own that money? And how much has he spent on his own lifestyle and in wasteful projects like purchasing this over sued house

    “In case most Nigerian artistes are not aware, it’s a fact that Tony Okoroji and COSON has been collecting your royalties for your songs played on radio and TV, whether you belonged to COSON or not. So if your music has been played even only once on radio, Tony Okoroji has collected your royalty. Pls ask him “where is my money!”

    And while Okoroji has not responded to Banwo, a board member of COSON, Azeezat Queen of Love took to Facebook to add her voice to the drama, calling Banwo a “troll” as well as labelling MCSN helmsman, Mayo Ayilaran as not trustworthy.

    “I had seen a video of him (Banwo) evading the offices of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (and) I went to comment why he would do that,” said Azeezat

    “After all there are various very dignified machineries for addressing differences of opinion. As a lawyer he should know better.

    “In order to correct some notions I tried looking for my comment, couldn’t find it anywhere. Deleted. What are you afraid of Mr Banwo?

    “But he comes to my timeline & starts spewing invectives.

    “Mr Ope Banwo I am not afraid of you and your threats.

    “You’re so full of it. I am even feeling annoyed with myself for dignifying your stupidity with an answer. But silence can sometimes mean obeisance, so I’ll do this just once.

    “Try walking into MTN office to film without permission, and see what happens to you. Cos you say you’re a stakeholder (rather questionable) so you can walk into COSON office uninvited, without prior notification & then start filming. No sir, its never done. Except of course, you’re looking for trouble.

    “We know what your problem is, really. Cos you’ve all been found out. And soon and very soon it will be judgement day!

    “7 criminal cases against Mayo Ayilaran, and you want to trust him with collecting music royalties on behalf of Nigerian artistes, who does that?”

    Both COSON and MCSN have been at each other’s neck over the collection of copyrights royalties, and it appears the drama is just unfolding.

  • Knocks for Mayo Ayilaran, MCSN at COSON event

    Knocks for Mayo Ayilaran, MCSN at COSON event

    Following the World Intellectual Property Day which held yesterday, it was a celebration of the successes recorded by the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), a Collective Management Organisation (CMO), which has existed for a decade – the latest being the new ultra- modern COSON House to be commissioned on May 20, 2017.

    Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji while addressing a press conference at the society’s current Opebi, Lagos office, said proudly that, “we did not get one Naira-assistance from the federal government or any Nigerian government at all to finance COSON House. We did not get one dollar from any donor agency or any foreign institution to build COSON House. It is also instructive that we did not take a loan of any type from any bank to finance COSON House. I am proud to say that when the ultra- modern COSON House is commissioned on May 20, we will not be owing a penny on the building or on any of the facilities contained therein. The building and facilities within COSON House fully belong to musicians across Nigeria and other stakeholders in the music industry, forever without any encumbrance whatsoever.”

    He averred that, “When says that things are not working in this country, we can boldly look at them in the face and say ‘COSON is working’”.

    But the media event was not just about the success stories of the agency, which has been touted as the ‘sole collective management organization’ in the country. Okoroji frays the purported orders of the Attorney-General of the Federation that Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd (MCSN) be approved as another collecting society.

    Okoroji dismissed the purported approval of MCSN as a joke, saying the laid down processes for the approval of a collective management organization in Nigeria were not followed.

    In the words of the former president of PMAN, “It is not just that due process was not followed, no process whatsoever was followed. This is like building something on nothing. It cannot stand.”

    He queried: “Did MCSN send an application to the NCC in the prescribed form as required under the Regulations? The answer is a blatant NO.

    “Did MCSN pay the prescribed fee to the federal government as required under the Regulations? The answer again is a blatant NO.

    “Has MCSN shown anyone the proof of payment of the prescribed fee? The answer of course is another blatant NO.

    “Did MCSN submit the many documents required to be submitted to the NCC under the regulations which documents are required to be evaluated before the grant of any approval.  The answer once again is an unqualified NO.”

    Okoroji alleged that the much talked about approval of MCSN Ltd, is a product of a conspiracy between MCSN’s helmsman, Mayo Ayilaran and some AGF’s Media Assistants at the Federal Ministry of Justice.

    He reasoned that the alleged conspirators took advantage of the fact that “the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami is an incredibly busy public officer with scanty knowledge of the history of the copyright system in Nigeria.”

    COSON is therefore demanding for the immediate withdrawal of any letter or document suggesting or purporting that MCSN) has been approved to collect royalties on behalf of musicians and other music industry stakeholders.

  • COSON takes Etisalat to court

    COSON takes Etisalat to court

    The Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), last Friday, instituted a N12 billion law suit against Emerging Markets Telecommunications Services Ltd, the parent company of Etisalat, at the Federal High Court, Lagos.
    Joined in the suit is Etisalat’s CEO, Matthew Willsher.
    In the new suit no. FHC/L/C3/363/17, filed by Intellectual Property lawyer, Mr. Justin Ige, COSON not only asked the court for four different declarations of copyright infringement against Etisalat, it has also demanded that the company delivers up and forfeits to COSON all infringing copies of the Plaintiff’s musical works and of any articles or technologies in its possession.
    With 14 distinct claims endorsed on the writ, COSON has also asked for a perpetual injunction restraining Etisalat, its agents, privies and servants from the continued unauthorized copying, communication to the public, streaming, selling, broadcasting, making available for downloading and permitting the unauthorized performance to the public and infringement of the copyright in the musical works belonging to members, affiliates and assignors of COSON.

    The new suit comes after an earlier 11 Billion Naira suit filed in 2016 by COSON against Etisalat, was said by the trial judge in open court, to have been struck out inadvertently.
    Speaking on the case, Tony Okoroji, the Chairman of COSON said; “We are committed to stamping out the era of monkey dey work, baboon dey chop from the Nigerian music industry and establishing a transparent and accountable industry in which everyone who invests his or her talent or resources can rest assured that his or her investment will be fully protected.”

  • BON chairman visits COSON

    THE Chairman of Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON), Mr. John Momoh, last Monday, pledged his organisation’s co-operation with the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) to ensure that all broadcast stations in Nigeria pay agreed music copyright royalties.

    Momoh who is also the Chairman, Channels TV, noted that this is in fulfilment of the obligations of the stations under the COSON/BON/IBAN/NBC/NCC/ Agreement of 2014.

    According to Momoh, every law in the land must be respected and there is no reason any broadcast station in Nigeria should avoid payment of music copyright royalties as provided under the law.

    “I pledge my commitment to work with COSON and to ensure full compliance from our members. This meeting is long in coming. We will meet with our members around the country. I am a stickler for the obedience of the law; It is imperative and obligatory that we pay what we have agreed to,” he stated.

    Commending the new Chairman of BON for taking the bull by the horn and creating the atmosphere for peaceful resolution of the issues, COSON Chairman, Tony Okoroji, said that his body remains committed to ensuring that Nigeria is a nation in which intellectual property rights are highly respected because according to him, respect for intellectual property is critical to tapping the significant economic potentials of the nation’s creative industries for national development.

    He also said that he remains fully dedicated to complete transparency, accountability and comprehensive reporting to the different COSON stakeholder groups which he said are the hallmarks of the success and continued growth of COSON.

    One of the key decisions taken at the meeting is to extend the life of the 2014 royalty agreement meant to terminate in December 2016. The agreement is now to terminate in December 2017 without any increase in tariffs.

  • Jolly Xmas as COSON shares N200m among members

    Jolly Xmas as COSON shares N200m among members

    •Announces acquisition of multi-million naira ‘COSON House’

    In its annual tradition, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has again disbursed royalties to the tune of N200million naira, as approved by the Board of the society on December 15, 2016.
    The unanimous approval of the proposed distribution took place at the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) of COSON held at Niteshift Coliseum, Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos.
    The Collective Management Organisation (CMO) collects royalties for the use of musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria on behalf of its members.
    Shortly after the approval, members had not departed the venue when they started receiving alerts of payment from their banks. Several members of COSON at the venue confirmed receipt of royalty payment.
    For the EGM, the gaily dressed musicians, young and old, from across the country thronged Niteshift Coliseum in a celebratory mood. There was so much singing and dancing as several musicians performed at the event, turning the general meeting into a carnival.
    Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji, thanked the members for their continuous support of the society since its inception. According to him: “Despite what is a very hostile environment under which your society has had to operate and an economy hit by severe recession and despite the acquisition of the multi-million Naira ‘COSON House’ which is fully paid for, your Board is today putting before you a scheme for the distribution of a record sum of N200,000,000.00 (Two Hundred Million Naira), a 42.86% increase on the sum of N140,000,000.00 (One Hundred & Forty Million Naira) which you approved for distribution last year”. The information was received with huge applause.
    Shedding light on the acquisition of the new COSON property, Chief Okoroji said, “I am pleased to announce to you today that in keeping with your mandate, your society has acquired and fully paid for a big multi-million Naira property at No 41 Oluwaleyemu Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja. When fully renovated, the property to be known as “COSON HOUSE” will have state of the art facilities for the operation of any modern organisation and provide sufficient accommodation for our growing work force. It is our hope that by time the next AGM takes place, we would have moved from Omodara Street to COSON HOUSE”.
    Commenting further, the Chairman said, “I want to congratulate every member of COSON for this historic achievement not made by any organization in the creative industry before now. Let me remind you that none of us can truly say anymore that he or she is not a landlord because we are all owners of COSON HOUSE”

  • Jolly Xmas as COSON shares N200m among members

    Jolly Xmas as COSON shares N200m among members

    •Announces acquisition of multi-million naira ‘COSON House’

    In its annual tradition, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has again disbursed royalties to the tune of N200million naira, as approved by the Board of the society on December 15, 2016.

    The unanimous approval of the proposed distribution took place at the Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) of COSON held at Niteshift Coliseum, Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos.

    The Collective Management Organisation (CMO) collects royalties for the use of musical works and sound recordings in Nigeria on behalf of its members.

    Shortly after the approval, members had not departed the venue when they started receiving alerts of payment from their banks. Several members of COSON at the venue confirmed receipt of royalty payment.

    For the EGM, the gaily dressed musicians, young and old, from across the country thronged Niteshift Coliseum in a celebratory mood. There was so much singing and dancing as several musicians performed at the event, turning the general meeting into a carnival.

    Chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji, thanked the members for their continuous support of the society since its inception. According to him: “Despite what is a very hostile environment under which your society has had to operate and an economy hit by severe recession and despite the acquisition of the multi-million Naira ‘COSON House’ which is fully paid for, your Board is today putting before you a scheme for the distribution of a record sum of N200,000,000.00  (Two Hundred Million Naira), a 42.86% increase on the sum of N140,000,000.00 (One Hundred & Forty Million Naira) which you approved for distribution last year”. The information was received with huge applause.

    Shedding light on the acquisition of the new COSON property, Chief Okoroji said, “I am pleased to announce to you today that in keeping with your mandate, your society has acquired and fully paid for a big multi-million Naira property at No 41 Oluwaleyemu Street, off Allen Avenue, Ikeja. When fully renovated, the property to be known as “COSON HOUSE” will have state of the art facilities for the operation of any modern organisation and provide sufficient accommodation for our growing work force. It is our hope that by time the next AGM takes place, we would have moved from Omodara Street to COSON HOUSE”.

    Commenting further, the Chairman said, “I want to congratulate every member of COSON for this historic achievement not made by any organization in the creative industry before now. Let me remind you that none of us can truly say anymore that he or she is not a landlord because we are all owners of COSON HOUSE”

  • COSON takes MTN to court

    COSON takes MTN to court

    Nigeria’s foremost collecting body for musical works, the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), has filed a N16 billion law suit at the Federal High Court in Lagos against telecommunications giant, MTN, for alleged copyright infringement.

    In suit No. FHC/L/CS/619/2016, filed by Lagos Intellectual property lawyer, Mr. Justin Ige of Creative Legal, COSON is asking the court for six different declarations of copyright infringement allegedly perpetrated by MTN in the MTN Friendship’, ‘Connect’ or ‘Walk In’ Centres across Nigeria; the MTN ‘Road Shows’ in Nigeria; the various MTN Music Concerts, Festivals, Award Shows, Product Activations and Corporate events; the MTN Callertunez platform; the MTN Music Plus Platform and the MTN Mobile Radio.

    COSON, in the Statement of Claim, stated that it has taken several steps, engaged in massive media advertising, organized various programmes, devoted enormous time and resources in appealing to MTN to obtain the appropriate licences and pay requisite royalties for the musical works and sound recordings deployed by the company but that no attempt made by COSON has got MTN to meet its lawful obligations.

    COSON complained that for every Caller Ring Back Tune (CRBT) sold by MTN, the defendant keeps a whopping 60% – 70% of the income to itself, giving just about 30% – 40% of the revenue to Value Added Service (VAS) Provider, the Record Label, the Performer, adding that no amount was given to the copyright owners responsible for creating the musical works.

    The body further prayed the court for an injunction restraining MTN, its agents or privies from the continued infringement of the copyright in the musical works and sound recordings belonging to members, affiliates and assignors of the society.

  • COSON LAWYERS GO HARD ON ROYALTY DEFAULTERS

    THE legal team of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), has expressed readiness for an unprecedented show down in courts across Nigeria with copyright infringers and royalty defaulters.

    According to information, since the beginning of the year, officers of COSON and the body’s consultants have been collecting detailed information in different parts of the country with respect to every organization which continues to deploy music without any copyright license or the payment of music copyright royalties.

    Meetings have also been held with different teams of Intellectual Property lawyers at the society’s headquarters in Lagos, in Abuja and at several other locations in the country targeted for the legal onslaught. The list of those to face COSON’s legal fire has been drawn and the strategies to take each of them on, has been mapped out, the management of COSON says.

    On the planned legal action, COSON Chairman, Tony Okoroji said; “We have no choice. We are fighting this war with every arsenal we can muster. We are deploying every resource at our disposal. We intend to win this war once and for all and change the intellectual property landscape in Nigeria. For all the defaulting broadcasting stations, we have notified the Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria (BON), the Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria (IBAN) and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC). We have also informed the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC).”

    Also speaking on the issue, COSON General Manager, Chinedu Chukwuji said; “More than any other organization in the history of Nigeria, COSON is using the law to effect social and economic change. We respect everyone but anyone who does not respect the musicians of Nigeria and those belonging to the 135 collective management organizations from every continent in the world which are represented by COSON should be ready to face imminent fire from us. It is that simple.”

  • COSON INTENSIFIES SOUND RECORDING RIGHTS LICENSING

    COPYRIGHT Society of Nigeria, COSON, has announced that it will aggressively pursue the licensing of sound recording rights exploited by users in all commercial and public settings in Nigeria with immediate effect. This was made known after the society’s Management Board rose from its first meeting in the year.

    Addressing the management of the society on the development, the Chairman of COSON, Tony Okoroji said; “After several consultations and careful review of the Nigerian Copyright Act, international best practices in collective management of music copyrights and the needs of our members, assignors and affiliates, the COSON Board has decided that it is in the best interest of stakeholders that the licensing drive for the rights in sound recordings is immediately intensified. As a very important organ in the Nigerian music industry, we must constantly review our processes and find ways we can serve the people we represent better. We will continue to ensure that the collective interests of copyright holders in the Nigerian music industry are upheld at all times.”

    Reacting to the development, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, General Manager of COSON said that no class of copyright holder is of less importance at COSON. “As it is our practise, we will continue to work in the best interests of all. Users of music can be rest assured that the Board’s decision to intensify the licensing of sound recording rights is in their best interests and can save them from avoidable legal palaver. We have worked out the modalities and are open to discussions with any user of music that is ready to meet the requirements of the law.”