Spiky: After suing CAF for unlawful song usage, the music producer earns almost GH4 million.

Commercial Court 7 in Accra has decided against the Confederation of African Football (CAF) for violating the intellectual property rights of Ghanaian producer and tech enthusiast Spiky, whose real name is Kwabena Ofei-Kwadey Nkrumah, following a protracted court struggle that lasted more than five years.

The court determined that CAF was guilty of unauthorized use of Spiky’s musical rhythm, “Okomfo Anokye,” in materials promoting the 2018 CAF Awards.

Anku.Anku At-Law, Spiky’s legal team, contended that by not recognizing him as the music’s owner, CAF had violated Spiky’s copyright and committed plagiarism and appropriation. They claimed that Spiky suffered severe financial losses as a result of CAF’s acts, which showed apparent disrespect and disregard for Spiky’s property rights by missing out on commercial licensing prospects.

Three years after Spiky charged CAF in public via tweets of copyright infringement, the case was filed in 2019. According to Spiky’s documentation, CAF acknowledged the infringement and apologized in an email, but they did not reply to his requests for payment.

In their defense, CAF acknowledged that they had utilized the music without permission, but they insisted that since the awards were a non-profit event, the soundtrack was freely accessible online and used for non-commercial purposes. Following notification of the violation, CAF said they had taken down the artwork incorporating Spiky’s music from their social media accounts and apologized right away.

Spiky insisted that his rights deserved to be upheld despite these assertions. “I’m not only searching for a settlement. That is why I am in court: to get my rights upheld. In other jurisdictions, intellectual property is recognized. If it were an international artist, they would be rushing to resolve the matter as quickly as possible, but it has taken five years,” he stated at the beginning of the lawsuit.

Judge Emmanuel Loddoh ordered CAF to remove any infringement-related content from their social media sites in his verdict on Wednesday. Additionally, the court granted Spiky damages in the amount of GH3,853,170.00 (or the equivalent of 250,000 USD in Ghanaian cedis, based on the current exchange rate). Additionally, CAF has assessed Spiky GHC 40,000 in legal fees.

Spiky reacted to the ruling by saying that many producers whose works have been stolen or exploited without proper credit have won a major win. According to a report by Starrfmonline, he said, “This legal battle and subsequent ruling is a win for the numerous other producers whose creative works have been stolen or illegally used without getting appropriate or any compensation.”

Consequently, feel free to refer to Spiky as a Millionaire (in Cedi) when you see him because, at this point, he is worth it.