Mantse may have moral right to the song Obrafour is suing Drake for but he does not have the economic right  – Legal Expert

A Ghanaian private legal practitioner and intellectual property expert, Lawyer Kwabena Mensah has provided legal context regarding the dispute over ownership of the economic and moral rights to Obrafuor’s ‘Oye Ohene’ Remix.

Obrafuor whose lawyers are suing Canadain Rapper and OVO Sound founder, Drake for  $10 million for sampling his song without permission has been met with stiff resistance from Co-creator and producer, Mantse Nii Aryeequaye.

The Chief Executive Officer of Chale Wote Street Arts Festival revealed that it was his voice that was sampled on the ‘Calling My Name’ track which did not give Obrafour the rights to file the case in New York Courts without his foreknowledge.

But providing clarity to the matter in the context of the law, Lawyer Mensah said the issue at hand is whether the owner of the moral rights to a piece of music also has the economic right to it.

In this particular case, it appears that the artist Mantse may have the moral right to the music in question, but Obrafour has the economic right.

“You may be recognised as a contributor which gives you the moral right but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you own the economic right,” he told 3News in an exclusive interview

Mensah explains that the economic right is the right to receive monetary value from the music, while the moral right is the right to be recognized as a contributor to the creation of the work. These two rights are not necessarily held by the same person, and the ownership of each right can have significant implications for those involved.

“It purely depends on who owns the economic right, it may be that he recorded the ‘Killer Cut’ part but as to who owns the economic right to the whole body of work that is a different conversation,” he explained

While the issue at hand is not a clear-cut one, the renowned Entertainment Lawyer makes it clear that it is important for artists to understand the difference between the moral and economic rights of their work.

In particular, he notes that when artists sign with a record label, they often assign their economic rights in exchange for an advance or share of royalties. This means that while they may retain the moral right to the music, the economic right belongs to the label.

“You may have the moral right but it doesn’t mean you have the economic right. If they were signed to a record label what the artiste will do is assign their economic rights in exchange for an advance or share of royalties so in that case the moral right belongs to the artiste that created the song but the economic right belongs to the label”

Mensah who expressed enthusiasm for how artistes were testing the wheels of justice said, “It is good that people are taking their Intellectual Property Rights seriously”

Background

Earlier on Wednesday, April 19, Robert Freund, a lawyer for brands, agencies, and creators shared in court documents on social media a lawsuit by Ghanaian rapper, Obrafour who was seeking “at least $10 million in damages” against Drake for alleged copyright infringements.

“Obrafour says Drake’ previously sought permission to use the work, didn’t get it, and released the track days later anyway.”

Lawyers of Obrafuor who filed the case in the Southern District of New York are asking the court to enter into judgment that the “Defendant willfully infringed Obrafour’s Copyrighted Work in violation of the Copyright Act” among other reliefs

Drake joins a list of Hollywood artists who have faced similar lawsuits for unauthorized use of samples, including Kanye West, Robin Thicke, and Pharrell Williams.

Source: 3news.com