Mahakama
ya hakimu mkazi Ilala imeiamuru kampuni ya mawasiliano Tigo, kuwalipa
shilingi bilioni 2.18 marapa Mwinjuma 'MwanaFA' na Ambwene Yessaya 'AY',
kwa kosa la kutumia nyimbo yao kama Caller Tune(Mwitikio wa simu) bila
ruhusa wala mkataba.
Hukumu ya kesi hiyo iliyodumu kwa miaka 4 ilitolewa na hakimu mkazi wa mahakama hiyo Juma Hassan.
Ay na MwanaFA waliomba mahakama iwaamrishe Tigo kulipa fidia ya Billion 4.3 kwa mujibu wa taarifa iliyoandikwa na gazeti la The Citize.
==>Taarifa zaidi kuhusu jambo hili endelea nayo hapo chini
Ay na MwanaFA waliomba mahakama iwaamrishe Tigo kulipa fidia ya Billion 4.3 kwa mujibu wa taarifa iliyoandikwa na gazeti la The Citize.
==>Taarifa zaidi kuhusu jambo hili endelea nayo hapo chini
A
court has awarded two Tanzanian musicians Sh2.18 billion in special
damages in a landmark ruling that could set a precedent in the
application of the copyright law in the country.
The
huge award was won by Bongo flava artistes Ambwene Yessaya “AY” and
Hamisi Mwinjuma “MwanaFA” who had sued mobile phone company MIC Tanzania
(Tigo), for unauthorised use of their music as caller tunes. A caller
tune is a tone that is in the form of music that is heard by a person
making a call as they wait for the person being called to answer the
phone.
Ilala
Senior Resident Magistrate Juma Hassan granted the award on April 11
after a four-year court battle between the parties. The award also
includes a separate Sh25 million in general damages.
News
of the fine against Tigo only came to light this week on Tuesday when
the firm went to the High Court to block the execution of the award
pending its appeal. History in the copyright field would be made should
the High Court uphold the judgement by the Ilala District Court.
MwanaFA said it was time those who had in the past taken the basic copyright laws for granted realised that things have changed.
“This
is a key moment in copyright in Tanzania. This is something that has
been happening for quite a long time now mainly because of lack of
knowledge and maybe because of the costs associated with such cases,” he
said.
He
added: “Nobody is supposed to use your work without your permission or
agreement and if at all he has benefited then he is supposed to share
with you according to the price tag you have set for your work.”
The
mobile network operator has, however, filed for a stay of execution and
has appealed against the judgment and decree for payment at the High
Court. The appeal was initially set to be heard on Tuesday but was
adjourned to tomorrow. The artistes claim that Tigo sold without
permission in the form of caller tunes content that belonged to them
without any agreement between the two parties. The two songs at the
centre of the controversy are Dakika Moja and Usije Mjini, which were
both done in collaboration by AY and MwanaFA.
Although
there are no figures that were mentioned by both sides on the precise
income derived from the sale of the two songs, the two artistes believe
the company generated revenue.
According
to the judgment, the artistes did not have any agreement with anyone to
distribute the songs, they did not have an agreement with the defendant
(Tigo) and neither did they contract a third party to handle this kind
of distribution on their behalf.
The
court in its decree states that the defendant infringed the rights of
the plaintiffs over their registered joint authorship of musical work
and in the process infringed the copyright and/or neighbourhood rights
to which civil remedies are applicable.
The
court, therefore, ordered the company to pay Sh 5 million as general
damages and Sh2.16 billion as special damages in addition to the costs
of the suit.
The
artistes had in their application asked for damages totalling Sh4.3
billion, claiming that the defendant had generated a significant sum of
income through the sale of their two songs to its subscribers across the
country.
In
recent years, mobile phone operators have been at the centre of a
controversy over how much they pay artistes for using their content,
with some singers claiming they were not benefiting from their work.
Customised mobile phone caller tunes in Tanzania are largely songs by Bongo Flava artistes.
According
to the Journal of Intellectual Property Law and Practice, copyright
subsisting in caller tunes and ringtones is similar to copyright
protection in any other musical recording, comprising an underlying
musical work and a sound recording which are protected under the
Copyright Act.
Mtani
0 comments:
Post a Comment