Sunny Ade, Abioro’s Contract Suit For Supreme Court

African Songs Limited (ASL), and its sister company, Take Your
Choice Records Stores Limited (TYC) founded by the late Chief
Bolarinwa Abioro is seeking justice over an alleged breach of
copyright contract agreement it entered into some 48 years ago with
juju maestro, King Sunny Ade and his Green Spot Band, (now known as
African beats).

In a suit now proceeding to the Supreme Court, TYC and its
sister company is claiming that the copyright agreement duly
entered into on October 6, 1970 between African Songs Limited and
King Sunny Ade and his band is still valid and subsisting a claim
King Sunny Ade had challenged in court.

In suit No FHC/L/CS/196/97 between King Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye
V. African Songs limited & others, King Sunny Ade had sought some
reliefs as general damages against African songs Limited over what
he claimed as breach of contract and for the continuous
infringement of the copyright in his musical works / Songs, asking
the court to grant him a sum of N1 Billion as general damages. He
also sought an order of court restraining the defendants jointly
and severally to deliver to him all the copies of the photographs
or likeness of King Sunny Ade in their possession.

In a judgment of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos
delivered in suit No FHC/L/CS/196/9 King Sunday Adeniyi Adegeye Vs
African Songs Limited & others on November 12 2015 Justice J.T
Tsoho granted some of the relief sought by King Sunny Ade awarding
damages of N500,000,000.00 against African Songs Limited and its
subsidiary TYC, now being managed by Late Chief Abioro’s son, Mr.
Abubarkar Abioro as the managing Director.

This judgment was promptly challenged at the court of Appeal in
Lagos in Suit No CA/L/329/2016, filed on February 2, 2016 and was
heard on November 9, 2018 before justice Tom Shaibu Yakubu, Justice
Biobele Abraham Georgewill and Justice Abimbola Osarague Obaseki
Adejumo, all of the Court of Appeal Lagos judicial Division in
which African songs limited and Take Your Choice Records Stores
Limited asked the appeal court to quash the judgment of the lower
court and grant its own relief.

In the suit the Appellants sought a declaration that the
copyright in all the musical works, which are composed by the
respondent pursuant to the agreement made on 6thOctober, 1970
between African Songs Limited and King Sunny Ade and his band still
subsists in the Appellants Company.

The appellant also sought a declaration that the action
instituted by the Respondent as plaintiff in the lower court in
this case seeking and obtaining an order of injunction restraining
Appellant’s company from exercising the rights incidental to the
ownership of the copyright in all the musical works produced by the
Respondent pursuant to the agreement of 6th October 1970 is an
abuse of judicial process undertaken to the prejudice and financial
loss of the Appellant’s company.

The appellant company asked the court to grant it a sum of
N500,000,000.00 being damages suffered between 1997 and 2013 and
until the final judgment arising from the respondent’s resort to
and obtaining an order of injunction which they knew or ought to
know constitutes an abuse of court process.

However, in his defense at the Appeal, Respondent, King Sunny
Ade had for himself and on behalf of other members of the music
group known then as “Green Spot Band” had sometime in 1970 entered
into an agreement with the Appellant company to produce, reproduce
and sell certain musical works of his musical group which were
contained in some master tapes for a period of five years only,
commencing from October 5, 1970, but upon the expiration of the
agreement the Appellant’s company deliberately refused to return
the master tapes containing the works to him, and had continued
with the manufacturing, reproduction and distribution of the
musical works in violation of the agreement.

In its judgment delivered in November 9, 2018, and read by
Justice Biobele Abraham Georgewill, the court of Appeal sitting in
Lagos held that the Appellant’s claim for N500, million damages was
unfound since the action taken by the Respondent at the lower court
was pursuant to exercise of right to protect his copyright, adding
that the copyright in the musical works of the Respondent
automatically reverted to him after 5thOctober 1975 as clearly
stated in contract Agreement.

African Songs Limited and its sister company are kicking against
the judgment still holding to its conviction that King Sunny Ade
and his group had breached the vital organ of the contractual
agreement which states that “The Artist shall not record perform or
repeat any record which hitherto has been previously recorded for
the company until twenty years after the previous recording for the
company of such records, performance or repeat records.

That the company “is still entitled to the sole right of
production, sale (under such trademarks as it may select) use and
performance (including broadcasting) throughout the world by any
and every means whatsoever of records manufactured in pursuance of
its agreement with the Artist.”

And that “the Artist agree that they will assign to the company
the full copyright in the music, lyrics of any works that artist
records for the company where such works are the original
compositions of the artist.

In view of the forging the appellant is proceeding to the
Supreme Court to claim its right by challenging the violation of
the referred clauses in the agreement.”