GBC loses case against GHAMRO

This comes after the music rights society, sometime in 2017, sued the GBC for its failure to obtain a user license for the musical works published on its TV and radio outlets.

In an earlier interview with Adom FM, the Public Relations Officer of GHAMRO, Prince Tsegah, disclosed that his outfit took legal action against the state’s broadcaster for owing music royalties from 2012 to date.

However, after 6 years of back-and-forth at the Accra High Court, the defendant (GBC) was found guilty of copyright infringement and was ordered to obtain user licenses from the plaintiff (GHAMRO) within 90 days.

In a writ of summons available to GhanaWeb, GHAMRO was awarded a sum of GH¢100,000.00 for general damages for the breach of copyright.

Also, based on the preponderance of probabilities, GHAMRO ‘s case was proved, and GBC was instructed to pay an additional sum of GH¢50,000.00

“A legal action was taken against Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) by Ghana Music Rights Organization (GHAMRO) for using copyrighted music without permission. GBC is accused of airing music on their various radio stations, television, and online channels without the proper licensing agreements with GHAMRO. The case was heard and adjudicated by His Lordship Justice Justin Kofi Dorgu. The case was adjudicated on the 8TH of March 2024 at the High Court of Justice, Commercial Court 8,” parts of the statements read.

“The defendant, GBC, was found guilty of copyright infringement and was ordered to obtain user licenses from the plaintiff, GHAMRO within 90 days of this order. The plaintiff, GHAMRO was awarded a sum of GH¢100,000.00 for general damages for the breach of copyright. The concessionary rates of 2% for radio and 0.5% for TV on all revenue (which was offered by the ‘joint reconciliation committee’ back in 2017) that accrued to the defendant, GHAMRO, and all its subsidiaries for the period of 2014 to 2017 still holds,” the statements contained.

Read the full writ of summons below: