Music Law Series (3)
Blackface
& Tuface Saga: What IP Law Holds
It is common
knowledge that Blackface and Tuface have been having their share of the media
space for years although on and off. One clear information which has always
been put out by Blackface is that Tuface steals his songs. No doubt that the
first song that shot Tuface into the legendary spot back in 2004 from his Face
2 Face album is the legendary African Queen which was also used as one of the
sound tracks for the Hollywood movie Phat Girlz in 2006. The song has been
described as a never dying song.
Amidst all the
glories Tuface has received under the arm of African Song, Blackface has
repeatedly claimed that the song African Queen was written by him and Tuface
stole it and taken all the glory. He has said this many a time and very
bitterly. This allegation does not end with African Queen alone, Blackface has
also claimed the song Let Somebody Love You Featuring Bridget Kelly from
Tuface’s 2014 Ascension album was stolen from him by Tuface and his manager,
Efe Omoregbe. Quite some allegation and claims by Blackface; and it is on
record that Tuface or his Manager or any of his PR team has never addressed
these allegations squarely. That said, this week’s series will merge this saga
with the law and it is hoped that it produces a good mix.
The gravamen of
this saga is hinged on copyright leg of intellectual property law (IP) without
more, but the phrase at the center stage of this saga has been “stole my
song(s).” Please, a song cannot be stolen under the law because under s. 382 of
the Criminal Code Act, it is not a thing capable of being stolen. At best where
a song writer alleges unauthorized use of his written song, it can only be said
that his copyright has been infringed upon.
Under s. 1(1) (b)
and s. 2(1) of the Copyright Act, a copyright protection is automatically
attached on any musical work under which a written song comes under. Once the
maker has written a song, the copyright to that song belongs to him as first
owner exclusively (see s. 10(1)) unless and until he authorizes or licenses its
use by another in writing, orally or inferred from conduct (see s. 11(4)). Its
use without authorization of the owner constitutes infringement and it is
actionable in law and equally protectable.
Why then all the
holabaloo by Blackface where the law protects a copyright and provided for
remedies in cases of infringement? Thus, what does IP law hold?
It is assumed
Blackface solely or jointly with Tuface wrote the song African Queen may be
sometime in 2013 or any time before it was first released in May 2014, and also
probably when the trio of Plantashun Boiz held sway. They were a musical group
and Tuface was the lead singer known for his magical voice, while Blackface arguably
was a good song writer/composer and the group’s rapper and Face was also known
for his ear-pleasing vocals. It is also a fact that African Queen was released
shortly after the break-up of the group. In the light of the above, can it be
said that Tuface is also entitled to make the recording of the written song
because:
1. It was a song
written by Blackface while the musical group was intact and can be argued that
they song belonged to all members and can be exploited by all irrespective of
the specific writer?
2. That Tuface
co-wrote the song with Blackface and a case of joint authorship or ownership
suffices (please, note that "work of joint authorship" was defined
under the Act to mean a work produced by the collaboration of two or more
authors in which the contribution of each author is inseparable from the
contribution of the other author or authors).
Under the first
scenario, it can be argued that it does not pass for joint ownership of
copyright provided under the Copyright Act; and from further transnational
research, it appears to hold water. In any event, it can still be argued that a
work emanating from a member of a musical group during the subsistence of the
group can be regarded as the work of the entire group and any rights attachable
to the group’s work be deemed to belong to the group and which is exploitable
by its members jointly and severally.
Under the second
scenario, it will pass for joint authorship or ownership under s. 11(6)(a) of
the Copyright Act and the resultant effect will be that such copyrightable work
is co-owned (wholly or partly) and can be exploited by each joint owner without
any breach being sustained.
Blackface has
also made authorship claims to the Let Me Love You song which Tuface featured
Bridget Kelly in 2014, ten years after the Plantashun Boiz group had split. If
Blackface can establish with credible evidence the ownership or authorship of
the written song which is a musical work and be able to state facts on how
Tuface or his manager Efe Omoregbe accessed same, then he may have succor
within the tenets of the Copyright Act. In another twist, Tuface’s manager, Efe
Omoregbe had come out to say that Blackface contributed to the writing of the
first verse; that Tuface wrote the second verse entirely; and that Bridget
Kelly wrote her verse. If this is true, then joint authorship or ownership
comes into play again.
Lastly, we have
also had same uproar of the same improperly so called “song theft” between Wande
Coal and Don Jazzy over the Baby Face song Wande Coal released shortly after
parting ways with Don Jazzy. In their case, Don Jazzy alleged song theft on his
twitter handle by Wande Coal; and Don Jazzy who is not a musician for all intents
and purposes had to record what he termed the original version of the Baby Face
song.
Conclusively, it
is not in doubt that various issues having legal underpinnings abound within
the music industry in Nigeria and
gradually, it is believed that the industry gets much better when structures
are in place and necessary professionals with their various arsenal come on
board.
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