Wakilii

Kiggundu v Black Market Records Entertainment -SMC Limited & 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application 1985 of 2023)

High Court · [2023] UGCOMMC 200 · 2023 Application Granted AI-generated summary ↓ Download Pin to watchlist Add to matter
Jurisdiction
Uganda
Case Type
Application for interim order restraining respondents from making copyright claims, pending hearing of temporary injunction application arising from underlying civil suit for copyright infringement
Decision
Interim order granted restraining respondents from making copyright claims pending hearing of temporary injunction application

Observed later treatment

No later-treatment classification is recorded for this judgment.

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Holding

Held that an interim order should be granted where a substantive application for temporary injunction is pending and there is a serious threat that the status quo will be altered before its hearing. The court found a real likelihood that copyright claims against the applicant's songs would continue, and that the respondents or persons connected to them were responsible for the strikes. Justice required that copyright ownership be conclusively determined through trial before further claims are made to third party platforms.

Outcome

Interim order granted restraining respondents from making copyright claims pending hearing of temporary injunction application

Facts

The applicant is a Ugandan singer who signed a one-year exclusive recording artist agreement with Black Market Records LLC on 12 May 2020, with the 2nd and 3rd respondents representing the company. Under the agreement, Black Market Records LLC was to finance recording and production in exchange for exclusive copyright in the songs produced. The applicant recorded one song during the agreement and elected not to renew after expiry in May 2021. On 24 November 2022, the applicant filed Civil Suit No. 1025 of 2022 claiming the respondents made false copyright complaints in bad faith to YouTube, resulting in strikes against his songs and disabling of his channel. Recent YouTube correspondence revealed additional copyright claims made since the filing of the main suit. YouTube notified the applicant on 16 August 2023 that his account would be disabled in seven days following copyright takedown notices for six songs issued by Black Market Records and Black October Music. The applicant filed this application seeking an interim order restraining further copyright claims pending the temporary injunction hearing.

Issues

  1. Whether the application for an interim order restraining the respondents from making copyright ownership claims pending the hearing of the temporary injunction application should be allowed.

Orders

  • An interim order is hereby issued restraining the respondents, their agents and/or anyone deriving authority under them from directly or indirectly making any copyright ownership claims in respect of any of the applicant's songs to any media institution or music streaming platform until the hearing and determination of the application for a temporary injunction.
  • Costs of this application are awarded to the applicant.

Rules and key headnotes

Interim Orders — Discretionary Nature and Test for Grant
The grant of an interim order is discretionary in nature and the court is at liberty to grant or not to grant it depending on the circumstances of the case, with the order functioning to preserve the status quo of the dispute until the substantive application for a temporary injunction is disposed of.
Interim Orders — Conditions for Grant
The considerations for the grant of an interim order are whether there is a pending substantive application and whether there is a serious threat that the status quo will be altered before the hearing of the substantive application.
Copyright — Interim Relief Where Ownership Disputed
Where ownership of copyright is in issue in the main suit, the interests of justice require that the court first conclusively determine ownership through a full trial before a party makes further copyright claims to third party platforms to the detriment of due process and fair hearing.

Legislation cited (7)

Cases cited (1)

  • Isabirye Charles v Alex Kakooza and 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application No. 656 of 2020)

Full judgment

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

Kiggundu v Black Market Records Entertainment -SMC Limited & 2 Others (Miscellaneous Application 1985 of 2023) [2023] UGCommC 200 (25 October 2023)
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.