Wakilii

Katatumba v Anti Corruption Coalition Uganda (Civil Suit No. 307 of 2011)

High Court · [2014] UGCOMMC 107 · 2014 Judgment for Plaintiff AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
First instance civil suit for copyright infringement and damages
Decision
Judgment entered for the plaintiff with declarations of copyright infringement and monetary awards for general and aggravated damages plus costs

Observed later treatment

Cited — treatment unverified cited in 2 (treatment unverified) Sequitur — Uganda’s citator · Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — not an assertion that this case is good law.

Citator coverage is limited to judgments in the Wakilii corpus and source-matched treatment records. Absence of a signal is not an assertion that the case remains good law.

No adverse treatment recorded Cited 2 times with no adverse treatment recorded; not yet tested on the merits. Derived from citing cases in the Wakilii corpus — a deterministic signal, not legal advice.

AI-generated summary. This summary was generated by AI from the full text of the judgment. It may contain errors or omissions—always read the source judgment before relying on it.

Holding

The High Court held that the defendant NGO infringed the plaintiff musician's copyright in her environmental song by incorporating it into a radio advertisement jingle without permission. The use did not fall within the fair use exception under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2006. The court awarded general damages of UGX 25,000,000 and aggravated damages of UGX 30,000,000 for the blatant disregard of the plaintiff's copyright, with interest and costs.

Outcome

Judgment entered for the plaintiff with declarations of copyright infringement and monetary awards for general and aggravated damages plus costs

Facts

Angella Katatumba, a professional musician and environmental advocate, composed and produced the song 'Let's Go Green' in 2010 and regularly performed it. In April/May 2011, the Anti-Corruption Coalition of Uganda (ACCU) created a radio advertisement jingle campaigning against the de-gazetting of Namanve Forest Reserve. The jingle incorporated substantial portions of Katatumba's song, playing it at the beginning, end, and as background music throughout the one minute ten second advertisement, which aired on multiple FM stations for approximately two weeks. ACCU did not seek or obtain Katatumba's consent, though they knew she owned the copyright. Katatumba alleged the unauthorised use embarrassed her professionally, particularly in her dealings with government environmental officials, and degraded her song to an advertising jingle, preventing her from performing it publicly for over a year.

Issues

  1. Whether the Defendant infringed the Plaintiff's copyright?
  2. Whether the Defendant's actions fall within the fair use exception?
  3. Whether the Plaintiff is entitled to the remedies sought?

Orders

  • Declaration that the Defendant infringed the Plaintiff's copyright in the song 'Let's Go Green'.
  • General damages awarded to the Plaintiff in the sum of Uganda shillings 25,000,000.
  • Aggravated damages awarded to the Plaintiff in the sum of Uganda shillings 30,000,000.
  • Interest at 8% per annum on the above sums from the date of judgment until payment in full.
  • Costs of the suit awarded to the Plaintiff.

Rules and key headnotes

Copyright — Economic and Moral Rights — Infringement — Unauthorised Use Without Licence
Infringement of copyright occurs under the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2006 where, without a valid transfer, licence, assignment or other authorisation, a person deals with a protected work contrary to permitted free use by reproducing, distributing, or exhibiting the work to the public, or by using it in a manner prejudicial to the honour or reputation of the author.
Copyright — Fair Use Exception — Reporting Current Events — Public Interest Use
Use of a copyrighted work does not constitute fair use under section 15(1)(f) of the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act 2006 merely because it relates to a matter of public interest. The fair use exception for reporting current events applies only to the incidental capture of an authorised performance by photograph, audiovisual recording or broadcast, not to the deliberate incorporation of a work into a separate production for advocacy purposes.
Pleadings — Scheduling Conference — Agreed Facts — Evidential Value
Facts agreed upon by counsel in a joint scheduling memorandum filed under Order 12 rule 1 of the Civil Procedure Rules constitute binding admissions that need not be proved under section 57 of the Evidence Act. A party cannot subsequently introduce evidence or submissions inconsistent with agreed facts without properly amending the pleadings.
Copyright — Substantiality Test — Quality Over Quantity
In determining whether a substantial portion of a copyrighted work has been used, the test depends more on the quality than the quantity taken. The use of a small but vital part of a work, such as the thematic core incorporated throughout another production, amounts to infringement even if the exact duration is brief.
Measure of Damages — Copyright Infringement — Reasonable Sum Where Loss Not Proved
Where actual loss from copyright infringement cannot be proved with precision, the correct measure of damages is what the plaintiff would reasonably have charged the defendant for use of the copyrighted work. This is based on the depreciation caused to the value of the copyright as a chose in action.
Aggravated Damages — Blatant Disregard of Rights — Non-Commercial Wrongdoer
Aggravated damages may be awarded in copyright infringement cases where the defendant acted in flagrant disregard of the plaintiff's rights with knowledge of the copyright ownership, even where the defendant is a non-profit organisation and derived no commercial benefit. The flagrancy of the infringement and any benefit (including non-pecuniary advantage) to the defendant are relevant considerations.

Legislation cited (32)

Cases cited (18)

  • Kakoma v Attorney General (High Court Civil Suit No. 127 of 2008)
  • Hugh Laddie, Peter Prescott and Mary Victoria, The Modern Law of Copyright and Designs
  • Copinger and Skone James on COPYRIGHT paragraphs 410 to 412
  • Hawks and Sons Ltd v Paramount Field Services Ltd [1934] CH 593
  • Advocates Coalition for Development and Environment v Attorney General (High Court Miscellaneous Cause No. 100 of 2004)
  • Hubbard v Vosper [1972] 2 QB 84
  • Esso Petroleum Co Ltd v Southport Corporation [1956] AC 418
  • Ashdown v Telegraph Group Ltd [2001] EWCA Civ 1142
  • Rookes v Barnard [1964] 1 All ER 367
  • Frank Music Corporation versus Metro Goldwin- Mayer IMC (1985) American Casebook Series page 1137
  • Stroms v Hutchinson [1905] AC 515
  • Lion Laboratories Ltd v Evans [1984] 2 All ER 417
  • Hubbard v Vosper [1972] 1 All ER 1023
  • Hyde Park Residence Ltd versus Yelland
  • Wrotham Park Estate Company v Parkside Homes Ltd [1974] 2 All ER 321
  • Sutherland Publishing Company Ltd v Caxton Publishing Company Ltd [1936] 1 All ER 177
  • Experience Hendrix LLC v PPX Enterprises Inc [2003] FSR 853
  • Obongo v Municipal Council of Kisumu [1971] 1 EA 91

Cases citing this judgment (2)

How later Ugandan judgments in the Wakilii corpus have cited this case. Treatment labels come from Sequitur — Uganda’s citator — each backed by a verbatim span from the citing judgment, and are not an assertion that this case is, or is not, good law.

Full judgment

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The original judgment as reported. Read the original PDF before relying on any passage.

Katatumba v Anti Corruption Coalition Uganda (Civil Suit No. 307 of 2011) [2014] UGCommC 107 (18 August 2014)
Source: this page presents Wakilii’s issue analysis and metadata for a publicly reported Ugandan judgment. Any AI-generated summary is marked as such. Judgment text is sourced from the Uganda Legal Information Institute (ulii.org). Wakilii is not affiliated with ULII.