A N500 million copyright infringement lawsuit was dismissed by a federal high court in Lagos against musician Kcee, businessman E-Money, and his record label Five Star Music Limited.
The presiding judge, Kehinde Ogundare, declared on Monday that Jude Nnam, the plaintiff, had not produced any reliable proof to support the claim of copyright infringement.
The Nigerian composer Nnam had stated that Kcee had covertly added songs to his album, such as “Som Too Chukwu,” “Otito Diri Chineke,” and “K’ Anyi Jee N’ Ulo Chukwu.”
Nnam contended that Kcee included his musical endeavours on “Cultural Praise Vol. 1” without getting his permission.
The composer sought a written or oral declaration that the three defendants jointly infringed on his copyright by producing and marketing it without his permission.
He further asked the defendants to cease further infringement and pay all revenues from the music.
Nnam also demanded N5 million as litigation expenses and N500 million in damages from the defendants.
KCee and E-Money, however, refuted every accusation made by the lawsuit. Additionally, they called Nnam’s assertions “frivolous” and an extortion effort.
In addition to dismissing the lawsuit, Ogundare fined Nnam N1 million in punitive damages.
Since 2021, the copyright infringement lawsuit has persisted.
