At Last, Startimes Resolves Legal Trouble With Coson
The big legal palaver between NTA-Star TV Network Ltd, owners of Startimes, the pay TV platform and Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), the nation's sole collective management organization for musical works and sound recordings, has been brought to an end.
The resolution followed a recent meeting held in Abuja between the management of NTA –Star TV Network and the leadership of COSON. The meeting which took place at NICON Luxury Hotel, Abuja was flagged off by the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Emeka Mba. Present at the meeting were the Executive Director of Broadcasting Organizations of Nigeria, Mr. Olusegun Olaleye; representatives of the Director General of the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), Mr. John Asein and Mr. Michael Akpan. Also present was Mrs. Bunmi Cole of the NBC.
COSON was represented by both the Chairman, Chief Tony Okoroji and General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji while Mr. Max Loko, Managing Director, NTA Enterprises and Mr. Justin Zhang, General Manager, Star Times represented NTA-Star TV Network. The discussions and negotiations were moderated by Mr. Mac Emakpore who was assisted by Alhaji Bola Agboola.
At the meeting, the management of Startimes was informed that the broadcast industry in Nigeria has entered a period of zero tolerance of copyright infringement and the duty of every broadcast platform to pay for the rights in the music and sound recordings broadcast by it is no longer in argument.
The copyright fees payable by NTA-Star TV Network, the schedule of payment and legal fees recoverable by COSON were agreed and attested to. Subsequently, the parties agreed to withdraw their actions in court.
It will be recalled that in reaction to an action brought by the operators of Startimes, COSON had in October 2014 filed an application at the Federal High Court, Lagos requesting the court to issue an order of interlocutory injunction restraining NTA-Star TV Network Ltd, owners of Startimes, whether by themselves or their officials, privies, servants, agents or howsoever called from broadcasting, rebroadcasting or communicating to the public on any channel on its platform any musical work and/or sound recording belonging to COSON, its members or affiliates pending the determination of the issues in Suit No. FHC/CS/1149/14.
The application filed by Mr. Justin Ige of Creative Legal, was supported by a 15 paragraph affidavit sworn to by Chief Tony Okoroji, the COSON Chairman and well known advocate for intellectual property rights across Africa.
Commenting on the developments, COSON General Manager, Mr. Chinedu Chukwuji said, “We are happy that this matter has been resolved and that we are deepening the culture of respect for intellectual property rights in Nigeria. We have said it loud and clear that if anyone slaps COSON, we will respond forcefully. We will continue to effectively represent musicians and the music industry in Nigeria. This is a group of people whose rights have been trampled upon for too long in our country. We thank the leaderships of NBC, NCC and BON for their timely intervention and the professional way in which the Startimes issues were resolved. At COSON, we are determined to strengthen the culture of respect for intellectual property rights in Nigeria. It is truly game over for abusers of copyright in Nigeria. Once again, we state that there will be no hiding place any more for them”
FOR COSON: