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Tag: COSON

  • Trial begins on COSON, First Bank copyright tussle

    HEARING has begun on the prayer by Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), asking a Federal High Court, Lagos, in 2014, for N700 million in unpaid royalties and damages against First Bank Plc. for copyright infringement.

    COSON had accused the bank of “unauthorised use of several musical works and sound recordings communicated to the public, deployed and exploited as marketing, promotional and advertising materials and contained in First Bank’s video presentation, Sights and Sounds of Carnival Calabar.”

    At the opening of the case before Hon. Justice Ibrahim Buba at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, last Tuesday, Mr. Justin Ige, lawyer to COSON, called his first witness, Mr. Chibueze Okereke, who introduced himself as a Journalist, Communications practitioner and COSON’s Head of Licensing.

    Okereke, who was cross examined by First Bank’s lawyer, Mr. Ekpe Asuquo, said that the Calabar Carnival has developed into an international event, adding that the Sights & Sounds of Carnival Calabar, must have added value to the bank.

    In the Suit No. FHC/CS/L/530/2014, COSON had pleaded in its 29 paragraph Statement of Claim that the bank did not apply for or secure a license or any authorization whatsoever before using the musical works and sound recordings of its members and assignors as contained in the video, Sights and Sounds of Carnival Calabar deployed by First Bank Plc in its marketing, promotion and advertising and posted on the internet .

    Further hearings have been adjourned to April 22, 2015, when COSON chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, is expected to appear as a witness.

  • Startimes, COSON reconcile

    Startimes, COSON reconcile

    WITH an agreement covering the copyright fees payable by NTA-Star TV Network, owners of Startimes, to Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), there appears to be a cease-fire in the legal battle between both parties since last year.

    Management of COSON, in a statement, the copyright fees, schedule of payment and legal fees have been agreed and attested to, hence, the parties agreed to withdraw their actions in court.

    The resolution followed a recent meeting held in Abuja between the management of NTA Star TV Network and the leadership of COSON, in Abuja, through the mediation of the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Emeka Mba. Present at the meeting were the Executive Director of Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria, Mr. Olusegun Olaleye; representatives of the Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Mr. John Asein and Mr. Michael Akpan, as well as Mrs. Bunmi Cole of the NBC.

    It will be recalled that in a reaction to an action brought by the operators of Startimes, COSON had in October 2014 filed an application at the Federal High Court, Lagos, requesting the court to issue an order of interlocutory injunction restraining Startimes from broadcasting, rebroadcasting or communicating to the public on any channel on its platform, any musical work and sound recording, belonging to COSON, its members or affiliates pending the determination of the issues in Suit No. FHC/CS/1149/14.

    The application, filed by Mr. Justin Ige of Creative Legal, was supported by a 15-paragraph affidavit, sworn to, by Chief Tony Okoroji, Chairman of COSON.

    Commenting on the developments, COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji, said, “We are happy that this matter has been resolved and that we are deepening the culture of respect for intellectual property rights in Nigeria… We will continue to effectively represent musicians and the music industry in Nigeria. This is a group of people whose rights have been trampled upon for too long in our country. We thank the leaderships of NBC, NCC and BON for their timely intervention and the professional way in which the Startimes issues were resolved.”

  • Firm unveils device for tracking music on radio Tv

    Firm unveils device for tracking music on radio Tv

    Compliance and Content Monitoring Limited (CCM), a technology and media monitoring company, has unveiled a music tracking service known as musiktrak to provide superior media monitoring capability to music industry stakeholders.

    The device, which is available on www.musiktrak.com, provides comprehensive and verifiable log of the airplay of songs by local and foreign artistes across 260 radio and television stations in Nigeria.

    The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, CCM Limited,  Mr Tunde Onadele, in a statement in Lagos, said musiktrak is the first and only service that tracks songs across Nigeria with 24/7 recording of free to sir broadcast transmission from radio and TV.

    He noted : “Now that reliable data of song plays on radio and television stations in Nigeria is available, collective management of organisation, such as COSON and MCSN had no excuse for not collecting royalties from broadcast organisations or paying same right owners locally and abroad in a way that is fully transparent and accountable.”

    He said: “Some of the disputes in the music industry can be averted  and music makers, users, collection bodies and regulator can now focus to grow the industry.”

    He said musiktrak is a most advanced detection and logging technology that can be put to effective use by various music industry stakeholders in comparative airplays for planning competitive activities obtaining hard data for making royalty/legal claims or forecasting upcoming royalty fees.

  • COSON distributes N90m in royalties

    COSON distributes N90m in royalties

    To the elation of several music artistes, the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), last Tuesday, distributed varying amount of money to members, running into N90 million.

    It was the fourth time the society was distributing monies collected on behalf of its members, from users of musical works, and the amount shared this year, represents 80 percent increase on the sum of N50 million which the society distributed in 2013.

    The distribution exercise, which kicked off with an Extraordinary General Meeting of COSON, at the Oranmiyan Hall, Lagos Airport Hotel, had musicians of all generations, including the iconic Dan Maraya Jos, Chris Ajilo, Laolu Akins to the likes of Majek Fashek, OJB Jezreel, Azeezat, Black O’ Rice and Kenny St Brown.

    The musicians had gathered at the EGM to approve the distribution of the sum of N90 million, before the commencement of the distribution to industry right holders across Nigeria.

    Present at the meeting was the Lagos Zonal Manager of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Mr. Chris Nkwocha and Chairman of the newly approved Audio Visual Rights Society (AVRS), Mr. Mahmood Ali-Balogun.

    Delivering his address at the event, COSON Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji spoke on the society’s plans to significantly increase its distributable income, calling on the Federal Government to hasten the implementation of the Copyright Levy Scheme which he said is crucial to the survival of the music industry in Nigeria.

    He said: “As you well know, with the advent of new technology, most people no longer obtain their music or movies by buying CDs or DVDs. They download or bluetooth and deny owners of the works significant revenue. To compensate for this loss, in many countries around the world, a small levy is charged on the gadgets used for this stealing of intellectual property. The money collected from the levy of such gadgets such as MP3s, MP4s, cellphones, memory cards, flash drives, etc, is paid through the collective management system to the artistes, writers and producers whose music, movies and books are stolen. Twenty two years ago, Nigeria became the first country in Africa to provide for the levy in our laws. Sadly, well over 22 years since the promulgation of the law, the unending protocol, red tape and bureaucracy in the Nigerian system have made it impossible for the stakeholders to benefit from this important scheme which have for several years been lubricating the creative industries in neighbouring Ghana and Burkina Faso. It is our desire to ensure that the private copy levy scheme becomes operational in Nigeria in 2015 so that we have a new revenue stream to substantially increase the COSON distributable revenue.”

    Speaking on the distribution, Dancehall king and COSON Board member, Baba Dee Fasassi said, “The annual distribution of copyright royalties to rightholders by COSON remains one of the best things to happen in the music industry. This is very commendable and we look forward to better days as regards the struggle for the respect of intellectual property rights in Nigeria.”

    For songstress and COSON Director, Azeezat Allen, “This is yet another beautiful day at COSON. Despite all the setbacks, COSON is still standing. This is a testimony to the resilience of our members in insisting that the copyright law in Nigeria is upheld.”

  • COSON set to distribute royalties

    COSON set to distribute royalties

    FOR the forth time since it was licensed by the Nigerian Copyright Commission, (NCC), the Tony Okoroji-led Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) will distributing royalties collected on behalf of its members.

    It will be recalled that the society has engaged in series of litigations in its bid to get users of intellectual properties, including broadcast stations, hotels and other public places to pay for the use of such works, with many still in defiance.

    Management of COSON has fixed Tuesday, December 16, 2014 for its Extra-Ordinary General Meeting (EGM), where the main agenda of the meeting is for members to pass a resolution to approve this year’s distribution of music copyright royalties after which distribution shall commence.

    The event is scheduled to take place at the Oranmiyan Hall, Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.

    Speaking on this year’s distribution, General Manager of COSON, Chinedu Chukwuji said, “At COSON, we remain committed to our cause to ensure that right owners are rewarded for their music exploited. In spite of the economic downturn, COSON continues to ensure that at the end of the day, right owners can smile.

    We want to assure all our members and affiliates that we would not rest on our oars until we get to the place of our dreams, which is a more vibrant and rewarding music industry where intellectual property is given the respect it deserves.”

    An excited COSON Board member, Azeezat Allen said, “I am always very proud to be a member of COSON. If I was told few years back that a system like this would work in Nigeria, I would have laughed my head off in mockery. But right before my eyes, not only do we have such a system in place, it is being run efficiently. Come December 16, COSON members can be sure of a good Christmas and end of year celebration. COSON is indeed working”.

    The annual distribution by COSON is in line with the society’s core mandate to license the use of music and to distribute royalties to right owners.

  • Defamation: court orders COSON boss to pay N25m damages

    For allegedly using derogatory words against Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria Limited’s (MCSN) Mayo Ayilaran, Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) boss, Tony Okoroji has been ordered to pay N25 million damages.

    The order was contained in a judgment delivered by Justice Olubunmi Femi-Adeniyi of a Lagos High Court, Ikeja, in a case instituted by Ayilaran.

    The court restrained COSON from further publishing defamatory materials against the claimant.

    Okoroji, who is chairman, Board of Directors of COSON was also asked to pay N250,000 as costs , with interest on judgment sum set at 10 percent per annum from date of judgment.

    In a writ of summons dated April 16, 2002, Ayilaran accused COSON boss of defaming his character and demanded N100 million as damages.

    He claimed that Okoroji had in a letter dated December 4, 2001, addressed to Performing Rights Society Limited, United Kingdom with the heading: “PRS Activities in Nigeria: Serving the Interest of the Authors/Composers or Mayo Ayilaran?” copied to the International Federation of Societies of Authors and Composers and the Nigerian Copyright Commission, described him as a dishonest, fraudulent, difficult, problematic and dissatisfied individual.

    During trial, Okoroji did not deny authorship of the said letter, just as he alleged that Ayilaran had been operating an illegal society for many years, to which he was facing criminal charges.

    Justice Femi-Adeniyi held that the language used in the letter in question appears to have been carefully measured and was not spoken in the heat of an argument or in the prelude to a fight.

    “I find and hold that the words used therein which are disparaging of the claimant are not mere vulgar abuse but that they were used intentionally and with the motive to remove the claimant in favour with the recipients of the letter.

    “The defendant has not been able to successfully give lawful justification for the words he has used in relation to the claimant in the said letter to remove him from liability and I so hold,” the court heard.

  • Group endorses KSB for 2015 election

    Group endorses KSB for 2015 election

    Gospel music artiste, Kenny St. Best (KSB) has received the support of Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) for her political aspiration.

    COSON announced on Wednesday that it is throwing its weight behind KSB, a frontline member of the royalty collecting society, who is vying for a seat in the Lagos State House of Assembly to represent Ikeja 1 Constituency under the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Chairman of COSON, Tony Okoroji, said during a press conference held in honour of KSB’s aspiration that although the society does not support any particular political party, COSON is fully supporting those candidates who, regardless of party, show that they are conscious of the desires and aspirations of the Nigerian creative community.

    He said: “With the rebasing of the Nigerian economy, it has finally been acknowledged that entertainment is adding meaningfully to Nigeria’s GDP. What we have seen so far however is the tip of the iceberg. One of our key objectives is to make Lagos the entertainment capital of Africa with a bustling 24 hour a day economy with active nightclubs, restaurants, concert venues, carnivals, production centers, fashion shows, gaming establishments, etc. This will fuel a travel and tourism boom never seen in this region and create enormous jobs and wealth for our citizens.”

    He noted that it is for this reason that, “COSON is fully supporting the candidacy of Desmond Eliot, 9ice, Tony Tetuila, Kate Henshaw, Bob Manuel Udokwu, Julius Agwu and others with entertainment backgrounds. They understand our aspirations for the Nigerian nation and speak our language. They will join the likes of Richard Mofe Damijo and Tony One Week who have served in political positions without blemish.”

    Also speaking at the event, frontline actor and broadcaster, Mr. Patrick Doyle said, “we are supporting our colleagues in the industry irrespective of the political party they belong to. Today, we are here to publicly endorse our sister and colleague, Kenny St. Best popularly known as KSB, as she is set to contest the 2015 polls. I have personally known KSB for years and I can confidently tell you that she is a woman of great convictions. She is a woman who sees to the fulfillment of her words. What better character do we need in political offices than one whose words you can take to the bank?”

    On her plans for her constituency, KSB said she will work tirelessly to ensure that the dream of Lagos State becoming the entertainment capital of Africa is realized, adding that she will also address issues concerning women, children, education and the less privileged.

    Other artistes who sang praises of KSB at the event are female rapper, Weird MC, Fuji music sensation, Malaika and Kennis Music star, Joe El.

     

  • Honour COSON agreement, BON cautions broadcast stations

    Honour COSON agreement, BON cautions broadcast stations

    THE management of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) has called on broadcast organisations in the country to comply with the COSON/BON/IBAN/NBC/NCC agreement signed in May 2014.

    Speaking to delegates from across the country on October 17, at the 61st BON General Assembly in Gombe, BON Chairman, Malam Abubakar Jijiwa, said: “The owners of musical copyright and broadcasters must continue to work together to ensure a very vibrant broadcast industry and I am very pleased that BON and COSON have signed a document that makes it binding on all radio and television stations in this country to pay royalties to the owners of music copyright. This is an international best practice and Nigeria is a democracy. There is no reason why we should not be part of the international best practice.”

    Also speaking, Malam Jijiwa, the Director-General of Voice of Nigeria, said a peer review would be done to ensure that all members comply with the agreement reached with COSON.

    “It is not enough to say that musicians come to our stations and say, please; they are begging for them to be heard, to be recorded and heard. It takes a lot of sweats, ingenuity and creativity for them to compile a record, compile a song and play it. Therefore, they must be paid what is due to them,” he said.

    The Chairman of COSON, Tony Okoroji, thanked the leadership of BON for inviting him to address the General Assembly, which was declared open by Gombe State Governor, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo.

  • Music royalty: COSON, broadcasters may resume fight

    Music royalty: COSON, broadcasters may resume fight

    Indications emerged yesterday that the long silence on music royalty row involving Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON) and Independent Broadcasting Association of Nigeria (IBAN) was a mere truce, as COSON has requested these organisations to meet their obligations in line with an agreement signed during a recent reconciliation meeting.

    It would be recalled that following what it described as arbitrary royalty charges by COSON, BON and IBAN had rallied its members to boycott music of COSON members on their broadcast stations. Subsequently, the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had set up a joint committee for tempers to cool, leading to a purported agreement last May.

    In a statement released to the media yesterday, COSON is urging BON and IBAN to respect the royalty agreement.

    “Sadly, we must draw the attention of the nation to the fact that despite the substantially reduced tariffs and the public pledge of the broadcasting industry to keep to the terms of the COSON/BON/IBAN/NBC/NCC agreement, a good number of the broadcasting stations in the country are still deploying music without paying the very low royalty tariffs negotiated on their behalf with the help of the NBC and NCC. COSON is therefore constrained to call on the leaderships of both BON and IBAN to compel their members to act responsibly and meet their obligations without further delay,” said chairman of COSON, Chief Tony Okoroji.

    Vexed by the development, Okoroji said his organisation may be forced to return to court if the situation persists. “COSON is resolved to protect the rights of music industry practitioners and to collect copyright royalties for the use of their music and sound recordings in Nigeria. That resolve is rock solid. We will not waver and there will be no sacred cows. If we need to go back to the courts, we will. If we need to take other actions, we will. We wish to repeat that it is far cheaper to obtain a COSON licence for the music used by anyone than to engage COSON in an expensive legal process.”

    In 2013, COSON instituted several multi-million naira law suits against some of Nigeria’s biggest broadcast stations including AIT, Ray Power, STV, Rhythm FM, Beat FM, Classic FM, Naija FM, Smooth FM and Brila FM, with a threat to sue many more broadcast stations.

    Many had though that the negotiation committee, midwife by NBC, would put an end to the faceoff, but it appears some government-owned stations are among the royalty defaulters. “We refuse to accept a situation where the stations continue with the open stealing of the intellectual property of innocent creative people simply because ‘there is no budget’ for the payment for the key raw material they deploy in their operations,” he said, urging the National and State Assemblies to ensure that clear provisions are made in the budgets of the different government-owned broadcast stations for the payment of copyright royalties.

    Similarly, the COSON boss is also requesting the leaderships of the Hotel & Personal Services Employers Association of Nigeria (HOPESEA) and Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA) to direct each and every one of their members to immediately respect the agreement which they freely entered into with COSON.

  • COSON tasks Okonjo Iweala on copyright levy scheme

    COSON tasks Okonjo Iweala on copyright levy scheme

    THE Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has called on the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala, to activate the copyright Private Copy Levy scheme.

    In his address during the celebration of the annual No Music Day on Monday, September 1, the COSON chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji, called on the Minister to immediately and personally see to the Private Copy Levy Scheme, which has remained trapped in the Directorate of Fiscal Policy in her ministry for several months.

    “The Private Copy Levy Scheme, which for many years has been in operation in many countries around the world, including some in our sub region, is intended to provide the badly needed cushion for the stakeholders in the creative industry suffering from the unbridled copying and downloading of creative materials made possible by modern technology,” Okoroji said.

    Okoroji also called on President Goodluck Jonathan to direct the Bank of Industries (BOI), the Nigerian Export & Import Bank (NEXIM), the Federal Ministry of Trade & Investments and everyone connected with the Growth in Employment in States Fund (GEMS) and the Entertainment Industry Intervention Fund announced by President Jonathan three years ago to do what is necessary to make sure that the funds begin to have real impact on the industry, create the badly needed employment and reduce the restiveness in Nigeria.

    “We wish to state that both the Growth in Employment in States Fund (GEMS) and the Entertainment Industry Intervention Fund announced by President Goodluck Jonathan three years ago, which created so much initial buzz, have not been the catalysts they were intended to be,” said Chief Okoroji.