Legendary Nigerian singer, Onyeka Onwenu, has filed a lawsuit against digital music and movie distribution company, iRoking, for violating her copyright.
According to a The Nation Newspaper report, Onwenu dragged the company to a Lagos High Court on Monday January 15th, 2018 where her two hundred and five million naira (#205m) suit was heard.
The singer had earlier threatened to drag the company to court for alleged copyright infringement.
She accused the company of having allegedly profited from the sale of her works, even after the contract between the two party had come to an end.
“For years, iRoking profited from the sale of my music, even after a two-year contract it signed with me had elapsed. For years, also, they denied that they were doing so, they denied that they had made any profits from their illegal exploits.”
Onwenu said that iRoking had reached out to her representatives so that they could settle out of court, however, the company failed to show up for meeting several times.
“We are therefore suing to make a point. Artistes have a right to profit from their intellectual property and labor. Nigeria has copyright laws, which ought to be respected.”
She continued that: “The music industry has been built up and sustained by artistes and entrepreneurs like me. I demand to be protected by the laws of my country. Iroking must pay for this violation.”
The legend also charged other artistes to always monitor their works on online platforms and elsewhere as the distribution companies may not be completely truthful to them as regards profit-sharing.
”Some Record Companies are selling our music on the internet and claiming ownership of the Copyright. If only we would pay attention, artistes would discover that while they had been doing all the creative work, investing in their careers and in the industry at large, someone else is collecting all the profit. Enough is Enough!”