Singer Ewa Cole Sues Funke Akindele and JJC Skillz for Alleged Copyright Infringement, Demands N300m
- Nigerian singer Ewa Cole has sued filmmaker Funke Akindele and music executive JJC Skillz for copyright infringement
- The young talent claimed that her songs ‘Bhad Gyal’ and ‘Opoor’ were used in Funke’s movie series She Must Be Obeyed
- Ewa Cole is seeking N300 million in damages on account of the purported infringement of her work
Upcoming Nigerian singer Ewaoluwa Olatunji, also known as Ewa Cole, has sued Funke Akindele and her ex-husband Abdulrasheed Bello, aka JJC Skillz, for copyright violations on her songs.
Ewa accused the filmmaker of using two of her songs in her movie series, She Must Be Obeyed.
Source: Instagram
She Must Be Obeyed was produced by SceneOne Entertainment and co-helmed by Akindele and JJC Skillz.
The five-part series was aired on Prime Video and starred Nollywood stars like Mike Ezuronye, Patience Ozokwo, Akah Nnani, Abdulateef Adedimeji, Veeiye, Waje, and Rachael Okonkwo.
The songs 'Opoor' and 'Bhad Garl' were reportedly included in the series, and Ewa Cole asserted ownership of them in a lawsuit submitted to the federal high court in Lagos by her legal agent, Adewale Williams.
Reports reaching Legit.ng claimed Ewa Cole’s music producer Topage told her that the songs ‘Bhad Gyal’ and ‘Opoor’ were not good, but were later used by Waje and Veeiye for Funke’s movie.
Ewa Cole's songs used by Funke without permission
Ewa mentioned that no one had her "permission or approval" to use her songs and that she had no idea they were covered.
“Our brief revealed that after writing and recording the two songs, 'Bhad Gyal' and 'OPOOR' in a music studio with the aid of Mr. Tony, a.k.a. Tony Age (who was working with the “She Muse Be Obeyed” crew as that time), she handed over the tracks to him with the understanding that Funke Akindele and her crew will reach out to her for payments and recognition.
“After weeks of waiting, Our Client received the sad news that her songs had been rejected and would no longer be deployed in the production of the series only for Our Client to shockingly discover thereafter that she has been lied to and scammed, and that her songs were in fact REPRODUCED by Waje and Veeiye and deployed for the production of the said movie.”
Additionally, Ewa Cole is seeking N300 million in damages on account of the purported infringement of her work.
She petitioned the court for an injunction prohibiting the defendants from copyrighting, performing, or reproducing her musical works in the future.
Furthermore, she appealed to the court to demand that the defendants contribute 45% of the earnings generated from the distribution, reproduction, performance, and utilisation of the two compositions.
Funke Akindele celebrates 'Battle on Buka Street'
Legit.ng had reported that Funke Akindele marked the success of her film, Battle of Buka Street, after it made a new record in the cinema.
The movie had emerged as the highest-grossing box office movie of 2022.
The filmmaker thanked everyone who helped her achieve her feat and celebrated all the hard work put into making the flick.
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Source: Legit.ng
