My copyright case will serve as learning process on intellectual issues – Rex Omar

Ghanaian highlife artiste Rex Omar says the outcome of his copyright case with beverage producers Joy Industries is to ensure individuals’ intellectual properties are respected.

The ‘Abiba’ singer believes that the intensity of the court’s verdict is supposed to deter others from infringing on rights of creative people.

Rex Omar days ago won his 2015 suit against breweries company, Joy Industries Limited, which portions of his song ‘Dada Di Da’ was used for advert purpose without his permission.

In its ruling on Wednesday, January 29, the Koforidua High Court awarded damages of GH¢200,000 against the company. The court also ordered that a cost of GH¢30,000 be awarded to the musician.

The singer sued Joy Industries Limited in June 2015 for copyright infringements after the company used his song to advertise their product, Joy Dadi Bitters, without his authorisation.

He also applied for an interlocutory injunction against the company to restrain it from continuing to advertise the product with his song.

Responding to this in an interview with The New Publisher, he stated, “the most important thing to me is that I took the case to court and I won, which will serve as a landmark in the creative industry so that people will respect other people’s intellectual property.”

“I don’t believe that any business entities sponsor any event or program for favour. They still benefit because it is a give and take a situation where in most cases, they sponsor these programs and they get to use the platform to engage with the audience. So I don’t think to sponsor these shows to infringe on the rights of the artist.”

He added, “I will take this opportunity to advise cooperate Ghana that if they use someone’s intellectual property they must ask for permission and it will be granted them.

“There are laws governing everything in this country so we must seek permissions before using people’s works, this way, nobody will be dragged to court.”