ENTERTAINMENT
Copyright infringement: Danny Young sues Tiwa Savage, seeks N200M in damages
The tussle between Danny Young and Tiwa Savage has been reignited as the former has slapped the Mavin Records act with a two hundred million Naira (N200M) lawsuit.
In the writ (Suit No: FHC/L/CS/230/2019) filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos, on the February 13, 2019, Danny Young claims Tiwa Savage has infringed on his copyright by “copying, performing, recording, reproducing, communicating to the public, distributing and broadcasting” his “musical composition, musical work and melody” without his authorization.
“Tiwa! I know pple love u! Even me … BUT I still have to sue u bcos u stole my shit! a simple dialogue would av solved this but u prefer it this way. Now we will be in court discussing some 200,000,000 Damages. ps. Unblock me so I can like your pictures,” the caption of Danny Young’s post read.
Last year, Danny Young accused Tiwa Savage of using contents of his 2009 song, ‘Oju Tiwon’ in her ‘One’ song without his consent.
The singer claimed a line in his song, ‘O d’odun lan ri orogbo, o do’dun lan ri ahusa, o d’dodun lan ri omo obi lori igba’ – which when translated means ‘cash crops such as kola and walnuts are valuable every year’, was used by Tiwa Savage and since she did not bother to seek permission, it was a case of intellectual theft.
Months after the accusation, Tiwa Savage’s video to the song was taken down by video-sharing website, YouTube.
Confirming his involvement in the ‘deletion’ of the video, Danny Young told NET that “This is not a social media battle, it is just about doing the right thing.
“When I heard her song last year, my lawyers reached out to her lawyers but they ignored us. They thought it was just one small boy talking. Don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of respect for Tiwa Savage and I respect her craft as well, but you see, two brothers can have a case in court and still have a good relationship with each other.”
Earlier, a section of the public argued that his claims were false. The basis of their argument was that the said line was a proverb hence, no one owns the right to it.
In response, Danny Young indicated that the argument is flawed.
He said: “It is not about the song being from a proverb, the media got it all wrong by saying it was Sunny Ade who sang it first, but the truth is Sunny Ade only used a few lines from the proverb while Tiwa’s verse was a replica of mine, as well as the extra rhythm and lyrics that I added.”
source jivenaija.com
