Former Kampala City Mayor Nasser Ssebaggala, MTN Ringtone Case Set for February
The court hearing between Haji Nasser Ntege Ssebaggala and telecom\r\noperator MTN over ringtones copyright ownership was adjourned to February 3,\r\n2014.The\r\ndate was fixed on Monday October 21, 2013 by presiding Judge Hon. Justice Christopher\r\nMadrama, when the parties to the case appeared at the Commercial Court in\r\nKampala. The Hon. Judge set the hearing date, after the lawyers explained that\r\nthey had disagreed on the documents that the parties intend to use
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Mr. Ssebaggala accuses MTN of infringing on\r\nhis copyright by using his voice recording in various ringtones. SMS Media,\r\nwhich produced the recordings and transmitted them to MTN, is also a party in\r\nthe case. Copyright infringement refers to unauthorized use of works\r\nowned by a copyright holder who enjoys exclusive rights. In the suit filed last\r\nyear on July 13, Mr. Ssebaggala is demanding for all proceeds from the sale of\r\nthe ringtones. Each caller tune costs sh500, and is valid for 30 days.
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\r\nMTN in its defense acknowledges that although the recording contains Mr. Ssebaggala‘s\r\nvoice, he did not produce the recording nor acquire any copyright for the\r\nspeeches. MTN contends that Mr. Ssebaggala‘s speeches were publicly broadcast\r\nas current news of public interest and political events. MTN notes that Mr. Ssebaggala\r\nwas an active participant both as the then Mayor and ministerial nominee. The\r\noperator argues that the sound recordings are the product of the entity (SMS\r\nMedia) which fine-tuned the speech into transferable material.
Posted 22nd, October 2013
