Court Rules in Favor of Producer Spiky in Landmark GHS 3,857,500 Copyright Infringement Case Against CAF – Full Details HERE!

After more than five years of intense legal battles, the Commercial Court 7 in Accra has ruled in favor of producer and tech enthusiast Kwabena Ofei-Kwadey Nkrumah, popularly known as Spiky, in a copyright infringement case against the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The court found CAF guilty of using Spiky’s musical beat, ‘Okomfo Anokye,’ without proper authorization for promotional materials related to the 2018 CAF awards.

Represented by Anku At-Law, Spiky argued that CAF had plagiarized and appropriated his work without acknowledgment, thereby infringing on his intellectual property rights. The court agreed, ruling that CAF’s actions constituted a blatant disregard for Spiky’s proprietary rights and had resulted in significant financial losses for the producer.

The legal dispute began in 2019 when Spiky publicly accused CAF of copyright infringement through a series of tweets. According to court documents, CAF admitted to the infringement in an email and issued an apology but failed to respond to Spiky’s demand for compensation.

In its defense, CAF claimed that the soundtrack was freely available online and was not used for commercial purposes, as the awards event was non-profit. Nevertheless, they removed the infringing content from their social media platforms and issued an apology upon receiving Spiky’s complaint.

Despite CAF’s defense, Justice Emmanuel Lodoh ruled against the football governing body, ordering the removal of all infringing materials from their social media platforms. Additionally, the court awarded Spiky damages equivalent to USD 250,000 and legal costs amounting to GHC 40,000.

Following the ruling, Spiky expressed that the verdict was a significant victory not only for himself but also for other creators whose work has been used without proper compensation.

He emphasized the importance of respecting intellectual property rights, stating, “Intellectual property is respected in other jurisdictions. They’d be scrambling to settle the issue as fast as possible if it was an international artist, but it’s taken five years.”

This landmark ruling sets a precedent for the protection of intellectual property rights in Ghana, highlighting the necessity for proper licensing and acknowledgment of creative works.

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