Sports and showbiz stars warned of the dangers of neglecting their intellectual property

Showbiz and sports personalities have been encouraged to take intellectual protection more seriously as a way of safeguarding their careers and creating long-term financial security.

Speaking at the launch of LYB Sports and Entertainment in Columbus, Ohio, the company’s CEO, Listowell Yesu Bukarson, said many athletes and entertainers overlook the lasting value of the creative works they produce, leaving themselves vulnerable to financial difficulties after their active careers end.

He explained that while careers in sports and entertainment are often short-lived, intellectual property can continue generating income for decades when it is properly protected and managed.

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“It is unfortunate that some celebrated personalities who once enjoyed fame and success eventually struggle financially, even though they could still be benefiting from royalties and other intellectual property rights,” he said.

Bukarson stressed that every original creation automatically belongs to its creator and is protected by law.

“Any and every creativity becomes your intellectual property. And you have rights over your creativity. And the law gives you that power to feed off your creativity,” he added.

Using the late Ghanaian highlife icon Daddy Lumba as an example, he noted that anyone who uses the musician’s work without authorisation infringes on those rights.

“For instance, in the Daddy Lumba example, the law says all the songs he made, once he was alive, were all his property. And anybody who does anything with the music without recourse to Lumba and his management will be infringing upon his intellectual property,” he said.

He added that those rights do not end with the creator’s death but remain with the estate or beneficiaries for 70 years, questioning how many people in Ghana’s creative industry are aware of such legal protections.

Bukarson announced that LYB Sports and Entertainment will help creatives and sports personalities protect, manage and maximise the value of their intellectual property while preventing unauthorised exploitation of their work.

He also revealed plans for the LYB Sports and Entertainment Investment Summit, which will bring together stakeholders from the sports, entertainment and business sectors to promote investment opportunities, intellectual property awareness and sustainable career development for athletes and creatives.

The launch was attended by former Ghana internationals Charles Taylor, Nana Ahin Duah, Emmanuel Osei Kuffour, Aziz Ansah, Yussif Chibsah, Sadick Adams and Samad Oppong, among other invited guests.

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