Rex Omar, Ghanaian highlife artiste

Ghanaian highlife artiste Rex Omar says the outcome of his copyright case with beverage producers Joy Industries is to ensure individuals’ intellectual properties are respected.

The ‘Abiba’ singer believes that the intensity of the court’s verdict is supposed to deter others from infringing on rights of creatives.

In an interview with JoyNews’ Noella Kharyne Yalley, he stated, “the most important thing to me is that I took the case to court and I won, which will serve as a landmark in the creative industry so that people will respect other people’s intellectual property.”

Since Rex Omar won his case, many people although happy are also concerned about how this action would affect the relationship between the creative industry and corporate entities.

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However, the veteran musician said regardless of the support, companies still do not have to infringe on the rights of artists by using their intellectual properties without their permissions.

“I don’t believe that any business entities sponsor any event or program for favour. They still benefit because it is a give and take a situation where in most cases, they sponsor these programs and they get to use the platform to engage with the audience. So I don’t think to sponsor these shows to infringe on the rights of the artist.”  

He added, “I will take this opportunity to advise cooperate Ghana that if they use someone’s intellectual property they must ask for permission and it will be granted them.

“There are laws governing everything in this country so we must seek permissions before using people’s works, this way, nobody will be dragged to court.”