The Court of Appeal, Lagos
has affirmed the judgment of
a Federal High Court, Lagosm which awarded
about N5.959 billion in favour of the Musical
Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) against
Multichoice Nigeria Limited as damages.

The trio of Justices Ogbuinya Obande Festus,
Gabriel Omoniyi Kolawole and Balkisu Bello
Aliyu dismissed the appeal filed by
Multichoice Nigeria Limited on ground of
being unmeritorious.

They noted that the appeal sought re-
visitation and alteration of the judgment to
reflect mathematical calculation of special
damages against the appellant and that it was
totally divorced from seeking a reversal of the
entire judgment.

The trial justices agreed that the application
of the respondent has merit and succeeds
and varied the special damages awarded by
the lower court to N5,450,152,125:00.

Justice M.B. Idris, now of the Court of Appeal,
had in his judgment in suit number FHC/L/
CS/1091/2011 delivered January 19, 2018,
dismissed the suit filed by Multichoice Nigeria
Limited and granted reliefs sought by MCSN.

The court agreed with the respondents that
the claimant infringed/exploited musical
works, which made up its repertoire, by
communicating them for the public, upon a
fee, through satellite and pay TV
broadcasting, without licence from nor
payment of royalties to it.

He upheld claims by MSCN that it was the
owner, assignee and exclusive licensee of
body of some musical works over the Nigerian
territory.

The court held that the musical works were
assigned to it by two international
organisations, Performing Rights Society (PRS)
and Mechanical Copyright Protection Society
(MCPS), by dint of two reciprocal
representation agreements.

Dissatisfied with the judgment of the court,
Multichoice Nigeria Limited filed an appeal on
January 1, 2018 and an amended notice of
appeal dated September 10, 2018.

Multichoice sought an order of the appellate
court setting aside the judgment of the lower
court delivered by Justice Idris on January 19,
2018.

The appellant also sought an order of the
appellate court striking out and dismissing the
respondent’s counter claims with substantial
costs.

The parties were represented by M.I.
Igbokwe (SAN) and Norrison Quakers (SAN) for
the appellant and respondent respectively.

In the appeal number CA/L/188/2018, heard
March 12, 2020, Multichoice distilled nine
issues for determination of the appellate
court while the respondent, MCSN, distilled
six issues..

In their judgment, the three-man panel of the
Appeal Court resolved the nine issues distilled
by the appellant in favour of the respondent.

According to them, “the lower court judgment
did not occasion a miscarriage of justice and
that it carried out a meticulous and thorough
analyses of the evidences viva voce and
documentary and attached deserving
probative weight for the respective evidence
offered by the parties.”

The Appeal Court held that the lower court
paid due fidelity to the law when it awarded
the damages in the case.

The upper court also held: “ That the evidence
of the respondent, based on their qualitative
nature, preponderated over those of the
appellant and that the respondent proved its
case.”

They further held that the judgment of the
lower court “is not antithetical to the
pleadings and evidences presented before it
by the feuding parties.

“The lower court did not import alien/foreign
matters into the judgment. It utilised the
evidences of parties presented before it as
adumbrated above. The findings do not, in
the least, smell of any change of perversity
leveled against it by the appellant.”

They furthe held: “The fate of the appeal is
obvious. It is bereft of any grain of merit and
deserves the penalty of dismissal.”

Consequently, they dismissed the appeal and
affirmed the decision of the lower court.

Addressing a virtual press conference on the
judgment, MSCN Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Mayowa Ayilaran said the judgment of the
Court of Appeal affirmed MCSN’s proprietary
right in musical works and sound recordings
and it should be duly compensated for the
exploitation of the works by users such as
Multichoice Nigeria Limited.

Ayilaran stated that the judgment also
affirmed the legal standing of MCSN and the
right of action which it acquired long before
the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) was
established or the enactment of the Copyright
Act 2004.

He said with the decisions of various courts,
including “Suit Nos. FHC/L/CS/61/2007:

Performing and Mechanical Rights Society of
Nigeria Ltd/Gte (PMRS) vs. Nigerian Copyright
Commission & Ors, delivered on 4th June
2007 and FHC/L/CS/1259/2017: Copyright
Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte vs. Musical
Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte & Ors.,
delivered on February 13, 2018, NCC and
MCSN now have the opportunity to create the
desired harmonious relationships in the
administration and enforcement of copyright
in Nigeria by working to harmonise the
collective management of copyright.

“MCSN with the support of the NCC shall take
the first major step in realising this objective
through a major project of deploying the
desired technology in the administration of
licensing, tracking, monitoring, collection and
distribution of royalties in the coming few
days”, he said.

https://thenationonlineng.net/appeal-court-affirms-n5-9b-judgment-against-multichoice-nigeria-2/

Make them kill all the businesses for naija o

These ones go soon pack kaya comot for Naija.

Ok

Good

How can multichoice involve itself in this kinda fuckery. A reputable company at that. Kudos to the judges.

Upon all their charges & increased tariffs, they are still involving themselves in intellectual theft.

Anyway, Musical Copyright Society of Nigeria (MCSN) is ready to cash out.