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A recent ruling by Principal Magistrate H.M. Ng’ang’a at the Milimani Commercial Court in Nairobi ruled in favor of musician Nonini, against Brian Mutinda, a social media influencer and Syinix Electronics.
The dispute arose from Mutinda's unauthorized use of a significant portion of Nonini's hit song, "We Kamu" in a video which was promoting a TV by the electronics company.
Nonini would later bump into the video while scrolling through social media and was outraged. He argued that the influencer had exploited his intellectual property without permission, infringing on his exclusive rights to the song.
In 2022, he posted on his socials, ‘Syinix Electronics decided to do a very brilliant advert using my song WeKamu. The only problem is they didn't ask for permission’
The case went to trial, where both sides presented their arguments and evidence. Nonini's legal team argued that Mutinda's use of the song was not fair use because it was substantial and commercial in nature.
The video was played during the virtual court where it depicted Mutinda welcoming a lady to his house to watch a television screen branded in the names of the electronics company.
“The 1st defendant is alone in the house living room and the skit is in sync with the song lyrics leo niko kwa keja sitoki hapa, kwa hivyo ukitaka we kamu This in the court's view, proves, on a balance of probability, that the 1st defendant included the plaintiff’s song in the video content creation,” read the judgement in part.
After careful consideration, the court ruled in favour of Nonini. The Principal Magistrate found that Mutinda's use of the song was not fair use and that he had infringed on Nonini's copyright.
“A declaration is hereby issued that the 1st and 2nd defendants are jointly and severally liable for copyright infringement by illegal publishing of the plaintiff’s song,” read the ruling in part.
The court ordered Mutinda to pay damages to Nonini, including lost profits and attorney's fees.
Nonini was awarded General damages in the sum of 4,000,000 for copyright infringement as well as the cost of the suit and interest.
Nonini hailed the verdict as a victory for artists' rights and a warning to those who seek to exploit the intellectual property of others for personal gain.
In a statement following the verdict, Nonini expressed his gratitude to the court for upholding his rights. He emphasized the importance of protecting artists' intellectual property and urged other creators to be vigilant in defending their work.
“A Precedent has been set and that means any other person can use this as an example in court to guide a similar case,” he posted.
Earlier this year, the court overturned a Sh 1 million damages claim which was initially awarded against Mr Mutinda and Syinix Electronics Ltd for copyright infringement on March 23, due to their failure to appear in court to defend themselves.
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