Court dismisses N500m copyright infringement suit against Kcee, E-Money

A federal high court in Lagos has dismissed a N500 million copyright infringement suit filed against singer Kcee, E-Money, the businessman, and his record label Five Star Music Limited.

Kehinde Ogundare, the presiding judge, on Monday, held that Jude Nnam, the plaintiff, failed to provide credible evidence to prove the copyright infringement allegation.

Nnam, the Nigerian composer, had claimed Kcee secretly added his songs including ‘Som Too Chukwu’, ‘Otito Diri Chineke’ and ‘K’ Anyi Jee N’ Ulo Chukwu’ to his album.

Nnam argued that Kcee added his musical projects to ‘Cultural Praise Vol. 1’ without his consent.

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 also sought that the defendants pay all royalties from the songs and stop further infringement.

Nnam further sought a damage fee of N500 million from the defendants as well as N5 million as the cost of action.

However, KCee and E-Money denied all the plaintiff’s allegations. They also described Nnam’s claims as “frivolous” and an attempt to extort them.

Aside from the suit dismissal, Ogundare also awarded a punitive cost of N1 million against Nnam.

The copyright infringement lawsuit has been ongoing since 2021.