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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