Producer and tech analyst, Kwabena Ofei-Kwadey Nkrumah, popularly known as Spiky, in 2022 launched a legal suit against the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The governing African football body used the musical beat "Okomfo Anokye" during the CAF Awards held in Ghana in 2018.
Spiky contended that CAF used his musical beat without his consent and deserved compensation.
Spiky's lawyers indicated that CAF plagiarized, appropriated, and infringed on the producer's copyright when they failed to acknowledge him as the owner.
The music producer decided to reach out to CAF via their official mail and on social media platforms but to no avail.
CAF admitted to the infringement, arguing that the musical work was “available online for free download without any restrictions or conditions, to use for the artwork posted on CAF’s social media platforms.”
Despite apologizing to Spiky, CAF did not respond to his demand for compensation.
They also refuted allegations of using the soundtrack for commercial gain, asserting that the CAF Awards were not intended to generate profit.
Following years of legal dispute, the commercial court in Accra issued a verdict on Wednesday, July 17, finding CAF guilty of using Spiky's music beat "Okomfo Anokye" without obtaining legal permission for promotional purposes during the 2018 CAF Awards.
Justice Emmanuel Loddoh, presiding over the case, ordered CAF to pay damages amounting to the equivalent of USD250,000 in Ghana Cedis, along with legal costs totaling GHS40,000.
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