Konshens: Dancehall Star Awarded KSh 26m In Copyright Suit Against Ugandan Telco

• Jamaican singer Nonini Garfield Delano Spence alias Konshens sued a telecommunications company in Uganda
• Konshens, through his lawyer Cyrus Baguma, said he had not consented to the use of his songs as chargeable callback tunes
• Hon. Justice Patricia Mutesi ruled in favour of Konshens, noting the company infringed on the singer's copyright

Uganda - The High Court in Kampala has awarded Jamaican singer Konshens KSh 26 million.

Intellectual property

The Gyal a bubble dancehall artiste, sued Airtel Uganda, accusing the telecommunications giant of, without his authority, using his songs as downloadable callback tones.

Kalenge Bwanika Kisubi and Company Advocates represented the musician in the copyright infringement suit.

According to MBU, Konshens sued the telco and two other defendants in 2015, stating he exclusively owns the intellectual property of some of his songs.

Konshen's advocates shared the court's ruling on X with the caption:

"We successfully represented @konshens in the protection of copyright in his songs to wit; 'Simple Song', Gyal a Bubble', 'So mitan', No Retreat' among others, for being used as caller tunes without any royalties paid to him."

The post shared an excerpt from the ruling by Hon. Justice Patricia Mutesi. It read in part:

"I therefore find that the 1st Defendant permitted the distribution of the plaintiff's works without his consent and thereby infringed in his copyright."

See ruling below:

Netizens reacted to the post, and below are some of their comments:

@JGkibande:

"Congrats are in order. I wonder why performing artists say there’s no copyright protection. A few years back I won Maurice Kirya 200m against MTN and D-mark."

@housaine0:

"Congratulations , this an addition to the jurisprudence on Copyright infringement."

@MusiimentaStua1:

"Impressive."

Nonini awarded KSh 1m in copyright suit

In March, Genge musician Hubert Nakitare alias Nonini won a copyright infringement suit against influencer Brian Mutinda.

He was awarded KSh 1 million.

Nonini instituted a suit against Mutinda after he used his timeless hit We Kamu in a video marketing Syinix Electronics' products.

The singer had demanded the video be pulled down and a public apology issued to him.

"In this case, the influencer under the engagement of Syinix Electronics used our client's copyrights for his own financial gain and for Syinix Electronics' capitalistic gain without permission of our client hence amounting to copyright infringement," read part of the letter.

The presiding judge in the case ruled in favour of Nonini, stating that he had successfully proven his case.