Melcom suit – There is finally a closure on the case of breach of contract involving popular Ghanaian musician TIc Tac and Melcom retail shops.
Court has ordered Melcom to pay Tic Tac compensation of GH₵300,000 for illegally using the image of the musician for promotion when there was no contract. The court also ordered Melcom to pay Tic Tac, a legal cost of GHC 2,000.
Tic Tac’s lawyer Gary Nimako Marfo who spoke to the media after the court proceeding expressed his satisfaction with the ruling saying that businesses should never be allowed to use the intellectual property of right owners without their consent.
Tic Tac sued Melcom retail shops in 2016, demanding GHC500,000 on grounds of breach of contract. The artist explained that though a two-year brand ambassadorial contract he signed with Melcom expired five years ago – 2011, the company continued to use his image on various advert platforms.
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In his writ, the artiste asserted that, he executed a two-year contract with Melcom in May 2009 as their brand ambassador. This simply means that the company was allowed to use his image as well as his voice and personal appearance for advertising and promotional purposes.
He continued that the company failed on their part by continuously using his image on their billboards after his contract with them expired.
The writ which was filed on July 28, 2016, also said the artiste lost some other promotional contracts due to Melcom’s failure to remove his images on the said billboards, after the expiration of the contract.
Gary Nimako, lawyer to the artist was asked by his client to write to Melcom notifying them to remove his images, as well as compensate him (Tic Tac) for the continuous use of his images on the said billboards.
Melcom had refused to pay any compensation, leading to the court case.
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