Brian Mutinda takes his Sh4 million copyright ruling from Nonini to the High Court for appeal
Content creator Brian Mutinda has filed an appeal in the High Court challenging a Milimani Chief Magistrate’s Court ruling that awarded rapper Hubert ‘Nonini’ Nakitare Sh4 million in a copyright infringement case. The ruling, delivered last month by Chief Magistrate Hosea Ng’ang’a, found Mutinda and Syinix Electronics Ltd guilty of using Nonini’s song “Wee Kamu” in an online advertisement without his permission.
Mutinda’s appeal, submitted to the High Court on October 3, 2024, outlines 12 grounds of grievance, including the Sh4 million compensation. In his court documents, Mutinda argues, “The learned magistrate erred in law and fact by awarding the plaintiff general damages of Ksh4,000,000 without the plaintiff (Nonini) providing any evidence of damages resulting from the infringement.”
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Initially, Nonini was awarded Ksh1 million in damages on March 23, but this ruling was overturned after Mutinda appealed, arguing that he was not given the opportunity to present his defense. The court allowed Mutinda to re-file his defense, which was considered in the subsequent hearing, leading to the increased award of Sh4 million.
Mutinda contests this increase, stating, “The learned magistrate erred in law and fact by raising the original damages from Ksh1,000,000 to Ksh4,000,000 after an inter partes hearing, without the plaintiff presenting any additional evidence.”
In his ruling, Chief Magistrate Ng’ang’a addressed key issues, including determining Nonini’s ownership of the copyright to the song in question and identifying who was responsible for publishing the infringing video. He found that Nonini owned the copyright and that Syinix Electronics Ltd published the video, while Mutinda failed to provide evidence showing that his involvement was limited to providing a raw video without the music. The court thus held both Mutinda and Syinix liable for the infringement.
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