The Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) has sued popular digital pay television station in Nigeria, StarTimes to court over issues related to payment of royalties.
According to COSON boss, Tony Okoroji, the operators of StarTimes have never paid any royalty for the use of intellectual properties of COSON members on their platform.
StarTimes was established in conjunction with NTA to provide terrestrial wireless digital TV technology to viewers in Nigeria.
In a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos, COSON seeks an order of interlocutory injunction restraining NTA-Star TV Network Ltd, owners of Startimes, whether by itself or its officials, privies, servants, agents or howsoever called from broadcasting, rebroadcasting or communicating to the public on any channel on its platform any musical work and/or sound recording belonging to COSON, its members or affiliates pending the determination of the issues in Suit No. FHC/CS/1149/14.
But StarTimes ran to court to get an order to stop COSON from further writing, threatening or obstructing the Applicant’s business or demanding for royalties pending the determination of the substantive suit.
In May 2014, COSON ended its war with some owners of broadcasting stations in Nigeria after some of them asked its members not to play songs of COSON members.
