Ghanaian music producer, Kwabena Ofei-Kwadey Nkrumah, also known as Spiky, has secured a legal victory in his intellectual property rights case against the Confederation of African Football (CAF), on Wednesday, July 18, 2024.
The legal victory comes as the producer filed a lawsuit against CAF, after the African football authority failed to obtain legal permission before using the beat of his “Okomfo Anokye” song, for promotional materials during the 2018 CAF Awards.
Spiky filed the lawsuit in 2022, after publicly accusing CAF of copyright infringement on X (formerly known as Twitter) in 2019. In his documents, the producer noted that CAF had sent an email admitting to the use of “Okomfo Anokye” and apologised, but ignored his demands for compensation.
In its defense, CAF admitted to using the song without permission, citing its online availability and non-commercial use at the awards. They apologized and removed the artwork of Spiky’s song from their social media platforms after being notified of the infringement.
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Justice Emmanuel Loddoh, who presided over the case in a commercial court in Accra, awarded damages of Ghana Cedis equivalent to USD 250,000 and legal costs of GHS 40,000 against CAF, after pronouncing CAF guilty of failing to obtain the necessary permissions before using the song.
Reacting to the ruling, Spiky said that the decision was an important victory for him and other music producers in Ghana, whose works have been stolen or used without proper compensation, over the years.
“This legal battle and subsequent ruling is a win for me and other producers whose creative works have been stolen or illegally used without getting appropriate or any compensation. It’s a win, especially for all creatives and for young Ghanaians who have lost faith in the system,” he stated in an exclusive interview.
