An Accra High court has ordered the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA) to pay a fine of five million cedis (GH¢ 500) after withdrawing a defamation suit filed against Metro TV, Carlos Sakyi, and Optimum Media Prime (OMP), defendants in the case.
COSGA, in a writ filed on 9th May, 2007, sought an injunction, damages and costs against defendants for citing COSGA’s “lack of accountability and transparency in its operations and its flawed royalty distribution” as some of the key factors accounting for the dysfunctional state of Ghana’s Music Industry, thereby causing financial loss of billions of cedis to stakeholders.
This statement was contained in a document titled “The Comparative Study of the Music Industries of Ghana & South Africa,” authored by Music Rights Advocate, Carlos Sakyi, funded by BUSAC in collaboration with Metro TV and printed by OMP.
Legalink, counsel for defendants, represented by Daniyal Abdul Karim, in an application, asked the court to strike out the case for lack of merit, stating that COSGA as a governmental body lacked the capacity to sue for defamation.
“Allowing the government or its creatures to sue for defamation is inconsistent with free speech. Such actions would discourage members of the public from criticizing the government or its bodies.
“Public funds would inevitably be used to prosecute such claims for an outcome that is not in the public interest in free and uninhibited debates about public policies and decisions.
“Bodies like COSGA are expected to use political rather than legal means to defend themselves against criticisms which they regard as damaging,” counsel maintained in the application.
Mr Abdul Karim went on that the position of the law on the issue was the same in on the international front.
This positive outcome had been described by Legalink, Metro TV and Carlos Sakyi as a landmark victory not only for themselves, but all stakeholders in the music industry and the nation as a whole, adding that it affirmed the right to freedom of speech enshrined in Ghana’s supreme legal document, the 1992 Constitution.
An obviously elated Carlos Sakyi stated that he was not at all surprised by the decision because he was convinced right from the onset that the court action of COSGA against them was going to fail.
Meanwhile, Metro TV and Carlos Sakyi had vowed not to rest on their oars, but would continue in their quest to assist in the transformation of Ghana’s embattled music industry from its current dysfunctional state to one that would ensure that musicians, composers and other practitioners in the industry benefitted from their sweat and toil.
This, they noted, could only be achieved by encouraging the setting up of proper, tried and tested systems and structures in all music-related organizations that place emphasis on the adoption of the tenets of good governance in all their operations and activities.
They contended further that the system would ensure that organizations that represent stakeholders were transparent in all their dealings.
An Accra High court has ordered the Copyright Society of Ghana (COSGA) to pay a fine of five million cedis (GH¢ 500) after withdrawing a defamation suit filed against Metro TV, Carlos Sakyi, and Optimum Media Prime (OMP), defendants in the case.
COSGA, in a writ filed on 9th May, 2007, sought an injunction, damages and costs against defendants for citing COSGA’s “lack of accountability and transparency in its operations and its flawed royalty distribution” as some of the key factors accounting for the dysfunctional state of Ghana’s Music Industry, thereby causing financial loss of billions of cedis to stakeholders.
This statement was contained in a document titled “The Comparative Study of the Music Industries of Ghana & South Africa,” authored by Music Rights Advocate, Carlos Sakyi, funded by BUSAC in collaboration with Metro TV and printed by OMP.
Legalink, counsel for defendants, represented by Daniyal Abdul Karim, in an application, asked the court to strike out the case for lack of merit, stating that COSGA as a governmental body lacked the capacity to sue for defamation.
“Allowing the government or its creatures to sue for defamation is inconsistent with free speech. Such actions would discourage members of the public from criticizing the government or its bodies.
“Public funds would inevitably be used to prosecute such claims for an outcome that is not in the public interest in free and uninhibited debates about public policies and decisions.
“Bodies like COSGA are expected to use political rather than legal means to defend themselves against criticisms which they regard as damaging,” counsel maintained in the application.
Mr Abdul Karim went on that the position of the law on the issue was the same in on the international front.
This positive outcome had been described by Legalink, Metro TV and Carlos Sakyi as a landmark victory not only for themselves, but all stakeholders in the music industry and the nation as a whole, adding that it affirmed the right to freedom of speech enshrined in Ghana’s supreme legal document, the 1992 Constitution.
An obviously elated Carlos Sakyi stated that he was not at all surprised by the decision because he was convinced right from the onset that the court action of COSGA against them was going to fail.
Meanwhile, Metro TV and Carlos Sakyi had vowed not to rest on their oars, but would continue in their quest to assist in the transformation of Ghana’s embattled music industry from its current dysfunctional state to one that would ensure that musicians, composers and other practitioners in the industry benefitted from their sweat and toil.
This, they noted, could only be achieved by encouraging the setting up of proper, tried and tested systems and structures in all music-related organizations that place emphasis on the adoption of the tenets of good governance in all their operations and activities.
They contended further that the system would ensure that organizations that represent stakeholders were transparent in all their dealings.
