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Airtel to pay the price for using Konshens’ music
Konshens is welcomed at Entebbe airport in 2015. Court has allowed him to recover part of the Shs666m payment from Airtel Uganda as compensation for infringing on the copyright of his songs. PHOTO/MICAHEL KAKUMIRIZ
What you need to know:
- The judge ruled in favour of the singer’s compensation, saying the payment should not delay because the compensation remains uncontested.
Court has allowed Jamaican singer Garfield Spence, also known as Konshens, to recover part of the $180,000 (Shs666 million) payment from Airtel Uganda as compensation for infringing on the copyright of his songs.
The court observed that since Airtel Uganda is challenging the award of damages and interests, the telecom company is allowed to retain a small amount of the whole compensation pending determination of the appeal.
“An order is hereby issued restraining the first and second respondents and their employees or agents from recovering more than 70 percent of the sums due to them respectively in the decree before the hearing and final determination by the court of Appeal,” Justice Patricia Mutesi of the Commercial Court ruled last Friday.
The judge said she was unable to see why the singer’s compensation should be delayed any longer when his entitlement to compensation remains uncontested.
“The court more than modestly assessed his damages basing only on part of what he ordinarily charged licensees for the suit songs as opposed to founding the assessment on the whole sum which he ordinarily charged,’’ Justice Mutesi added.
A copyright refers to the right of an author to commercially exploit their work through selling, licensing, assigning and other ways permitted by law. It is characterised as a property right subsisting in a certain specified type of work.
The court directive followed an application in which the telecom firm had sought to stop the singer from recovering his compensation for copyright infringement until determination of their appeal.
The same court had in August 2023 ordered Airtel Uganda Limited to pay the singer $180,000 as compensation for the infringement of his copyright and a 15 percent interest per annum from the date of filing the case until payment in full as well as a Shs20 million as exemplary damages for copyright infringement.
Justice Mutesi also ordered Onmobile Global Limited to pay Shs30 million as exemplary damages for copyright infringement, with a 10 percent interest from date of judgement until payment in full.
“It is declared that by using and distributing the plaintiff’s suit songs as caller tunes without his consent, the first and second defendants (Airtel Uganda Limited and Onmobile Global Limited respectively) are jointly and severally liable for infringement of the plaintiff’s copyright in the said songs,” reads the court’s decision.
The court further declared that Airtel Uganda Limited and Onmobile Global Limited’s distribution of Konshens songs without remitting the proceeds to the owner amounted to unjust enrichment.
Background
In 2015, Konshens sued Airtel Uganda Limited jointly with Onmobile Global Limited and MTECH Limited for unlawfully accessing his songs which they availed as caller tunes to the telecom subscribers at a fee of Shs600 per download under their programme dubbed ‘Hello Tunes’.
The singer accused the parties of infringing his copyright in the songs and refusal to account for the proceeds obtained from the said infringement or to pay him any royalties.
Records show that the songs which the singer claims to be the author and composer are titled; ‘Simple song’, ‘Gyal a bubble’, ‘So Mitan’, ‘Stop Sign’, ‘Jamaican Dance’, Konshens Jazz version’, and ‘Jah Love me’.
