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| Ayilaran ( DG MCSN) |
The trial in a N30M suit instituted by the Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) against Finbank Plc for copyright violation in the musical work, MAKE THAT MOVE, was concluded at the Lagos Federal High Court on March 27.The court presided over by Justice Olateregun-Ishola has fixed May 28th for the submission of written addresses of the counsels to the litigants The two day trial (March26 & 27) was full of drama as the court rejected documentary evidence of the defendants and also disqualified one of its witnesses over suspected criminal impersonation .
The Director General of MCSN,Mr. Mayo Ayilaran opened the case for the plaintiff (MCSN) when he mounted the dock as the only witness and affirmed to the court that by virtue of reciprocal agreements with sister organisations around the world,MCSN is the exclusive owner of the copyright in the work whose usage without permission is the crux of litigation before the court for adjudication. He provided documentation in respect of reciprocal agreements with Performing Rights Society (PRS) of London that conferred exclusive ownership of the copyright in the music in the territory of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The documents were admitted in evidence by the court as exhibit. Under cross examination by the lawyer to the Respondent (Finbank), Mr. Ayilaran , insisted that the ownership of the work in question is exclusive to MCSN and that the society was making demands for the payment for the usage of the work without permission as owner, assignee and exclusive licensee and not as a collecting society.
However, there was a big drama in the court room when the respondent (Finbank) called its first witness, one Mathew Ebediziako, the Communication Manager of the bank, into the dock for examination and cross examination. Before he could finish introducing himself to the court, the Judge, Justice Olateregun Ishola observed that the witness in the dock was different from the picture attached to the affidavit sworn to by the witness in the court’s records. Thinking that there could have been a mix up somewhere, the Judge asked the witness to sign his signature on a piece of paper which was then compared to the signature on the sworn affidavit of the witness in the court’s record. This established a clear case of impersonation as the signature of the Mathew Ebediziako in the dock was miles apart from the one before the court.
At this juncture, an infuriated Justice Olateregun Ishola , adjourned the case to the following day (March27) with a warning to Finbank’s lawyer . and her impersonating witness to physically present to the court, the man whose picture and signature is in the court records or face the consequences.
When the hearing resumed the following day (March 27) the lawyer informed the court that her investigation had revealed that the man who impersonated Mathew Ebediziako was actually a former litigation clerk in her chambers who was employed through an employment agency which could not trace him anymore. Justice Olateregun Ishola at this point tempered justice with mercy and allowed the Communications Manager of the bank off the hook and advised him to go for thanksgiving because he just missed going to jail for ten years over the issue. The Judge put the criminality at the door step of the lawyer.
With the issue of impersonation resolved ,and the disqualification of Mr. Ebediziako from testifying for the bank ,Finbank called Mr. Lasisi Adebayo ,Head of Client Services of DKK & Associates, the agency which used the music—Make That Move, for the bank’s advert which is the cause of litigation with MCSN.He admitted that the company used the music in an advert for the bank. Under cross examination by T O Lawal, counsel to MCSN, he admitted that his agency paid for the copyright in the music when the agency was approached by Performing and Mechanical Rights Society (PMRS).An attempt by the counsel to Finbank to tender documents in defence of the bank was rejected by the court because the documents sought to be tended were photocopies instead of the originals. The court then fixed May 28 for the submission of written addresses of counsels to the litigants for adoption.
In another development on March 27, the Nigerian Copyright Commission withdrew all motions brought before Justice Olateregun Ishola in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/678/10 challenging her decision to abridge the 90 days pre-trial notice requirement of the law before one can sue the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC),Lawyers to the copyright commission withdrew all the motions challenging the Exparte Order of the Honourable court made on June 6,2010 that restrained the NCC or its agents from interfering in the operations of MCSN.
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