Is Mr. P guilty of stealing Rudeboy’s song? [Pulse Explainer]

In his defense, Mr. P claimed the song was co-written by them and produced by a producer he employed to work on the proposed P-Square reunion album.

Rudeboy’s claim of copyright infringement is one that has continued to plague the Nigerian music industry where the works of creatives are being used without due process.

Intellectual Property Lawyer Barrister Olarewaju Bello shares valuable insights on Rudeboy’s claim of copyright infringement as it relates to Nigerian laws.

Barrister Bello points out that sound recordings are protected under the Nigerian Copyright Act.

“The exclusive rights as stated in Section 36 of the Nigerian Copyright Act provides that ‘if anyone does or causes any person to do an act, which constitutes a violation of the exclusive rights conferred under this Act that would be classified as infringement’. These rights are provided for provided for under Section 12 of the Act which spells out the nature of rights in a sound recording. One of the rights here in Section 12(f) is the right to “distribute to the public, for commercial purposes, copies of the work, through sale or other transfer of ownership provided the work has not been subject to distribution authorised by the owner.”

He further highlights that The effect of this is that whoever releases a song commercially without the permission of the right holders would have violated the provisions of the Copyright Act.

“According to information available publicly, the P Square duo had made the song “Winning” together and since there is no agreement assigning the rights to Mr P to make him a sole owner, the alleged infringement can be substantiated. This position is also in line with the famous case of African Songs Ltd. V Sunday Adeniyi (King Sunny Ade) where the court held that it is illegal to commercially exploit a musical work without authorization of the owner,” he explained.

It would follow that the aggrieved party, in this case, Rudeboy, will have to prove that he’s the sole owner of the song. The demo version appears to be prima facie evidence of his ownership. Mr. P on his part, asserted ownership by claiming he co-wrote the song and paid the producer who put it together.

With a dual claim to ownership stemming from the former entity known as P-Square, it might be difficult to ascertain the actual ownership except through an interrogation of the claims of both parties by a competent court of justice.

Barrister Bellow however advised that the way to avoid these issues is for both parties to take legal steps to fully dissolve P-Square as an entity and agree on a sharing formula of its assets.

“When two or more people have operated as a single entity for a long time, dissolving such singular entities to individual brands does not start and end with a public or press statement. Dissolution should commence with negotiations and meetings with the affected individuals with their legal representatives to split the catalogues and assets jointly owned over the years. The purpose is to split rights and claims on works jointly owned (including unreleased works). Following these legal steps can potentially prevent disputes and embarrassment as it is in this case.”

In the meantime, Rudeboy can take certain actions if he’s convinced his intellectual rights were breached by Mr. P.

“He can issue a “takedown” notice action or approach a court of competent jurisdiction to address the case,” Barrister Olarewaju Bello said on the steps Rudeboy can take to strengthen his position.

It appears that Rudeboy has been working to take down the song as alleged by Mr. P in a post on his X.