The Nigerian music world has recently been rocked by a copyright infringement case involving the famous P-Square brothers, Rudeboy and Mr. P. The incident broke out when Rudeboy publicly accused his brother of stealing his song titled “Winning,” which was part of a two-track EP that was released on November 8, 2024. To back up his accusations, Rudeboy even shared the demo version of the song, claiming that his brother had recreated it word for word.
In his defense, Mr. P claimed that the song was co-written by the two of them and produced by a producer he hired to work on P-Square’s reunion album project. The controversy surrounding Rudeboy’s alleged copyright infringement is illustrative of a recurring problem in the Nigerian music industry, where creatives’ works are often used without due process and ethics.
Intellectual property specialist, Mr. Olarewaju Bello, shared insightful analysis on the case and how it relates to Nigerian copyright laws. According to Mr. Bello, sound recordings are protected under Nigerian copyright law, which grants exclusive rights to creators, including the right to publicly distribute a work for commercial purposes.
In the instant case, where the two brothers claim to have contributed to the creation of the song “Winning” without there being a clear agreement on the ownership of the song, Mr. Bello emphasizes that failure to enforce these rights would constitute a violation of the copyright law. It is important to prove exclusive ownership of the song, and the demo shared by Rudeboy could constitute prima facie evidence of his ownership. However, competing claims of ownership between members of the former P-Square group pose a challenge in determining the true ownership of the song.
Mr. Bello recommends that the parties involved take legal steps to completely dissolve the P-Square entity and agree on a fair distribution of its assets, in order to avoid future disputes of this kind. If Rudeboy believes that his intellectual property rights have been violated by his brother, he can take legal action such as a takedown notice or go to a competent court to resolve the dispute.
In conclusion, the copyright infringement case between Rudeboy and Mr. P highlights the importance of clarifying ownership of creative works at their inception, to avoid future disputes and ensure that each artist’s intellectual property is respected. This controversy also highlights the need for artists to engage in sound legal and ethical practices to protect their creations and preserve the integrity of the creative process in the music industry.