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Singer Joseph Mwaura Mutoria, popularly known as Mutoriah, has commenced legal proceedings against content creator and actress Karanja Wambui aka Foi Wambui, and Oppo Kenya - a smart device manufacturer - for copyright infringement of his intellectual property, a song titled 'Beta'.
In a demand letter from Mutoriah's lawyers dated 10 September 2024 and seen by
Nairobi News, the singer accuses Foi and Oppo Kenya of using his song in a marketing campaign to promote the OPPO Reno 12 5G device without seeking his permission.
"Our clients inform us that on or about 31 August 2024, your brand influencer by the name of Karanja Wambui aka Foi Wambui created a short video to market the OPPO Reno 12 5G which she posted on her social media pages including but not limited to Instagram under her account by the name of Foi_Wambui_," reads part of the letter.
It continues;
"We are informed that in the said video, our client's song titled 'BETA' was synchronized with the visuals without a synchronization license contrary to the provisions of the Kenya Copyright Act Cap 130 Laws of Kenya. The same video was heavily promoted by Oppo Kenya as a sponsored post on Instagram for six days."
In this case, Mutoriah claims that Foi and Oppo Kenya used his song without his permission for their capitalistic gain.
“In this instance, synchronization rights are at stake and as such, a synchronization license was needed but you failed to procedurally procure the same. A synchronization license can only be issued by the composer and/or publisher as they are the only ones with the authority to negotiate and issue such a license,” the letter from JTM Makori Advocate continues.
Mutoriah claims that when Foi and Oppo were contacted by his management team about the matter, they immediately deleted the content from their social media accounts, which, according to Mutoriah's lawyers, amounts to an "admission of guilt".
The singer is now demanding that Ms Wambui and Oppo issue a public apology to be posted on both the Influ8enbcer and Oppo Kenya official social media accounts within the next two days as an admission of guilt.
"We will engage you on quantum after your admission of guilt. Should you choose to ignore this demand, we have binding instructions from our client to commence legal proceedings against both of you in court," the letter adds.
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