Kenyan musician and producer Mutoriah is suing content creator Foi Wambui and OPPO Kenya for using his song Beta without authorization in a smartphone marketing campaign.
This comes a few months after singer Nonini won a case against Brian Mutinda and Syinix over copyright infringement.
The issue began when Mutoriah found out that Foi Wambui used his song Beta in a social media video promoting the OPPO Reno 12 5G.
OPPO Kenya also promoted the video as sponsored content on their platform for six days.
Mutoriah asserts that the song was used without securing a synchronization license, a legal requirement under the Kenya Copyright Act for pairing music with visuals.
His legal team sent a demand letter to both Wambui and OPPO Kenya, outlining the violation and demanding appropriate compensation.
OPPO Kenya denied responsibility, claiming it had no direct agreement with Wambui regarding the use of the song.
However, Mutoriah’s team insists the company bears liability for benefiting from the unauthorized content.
Negotiations to resolve the matter out of court failed. Wambui’s management offered KSh 50,000 in settlement, a figure Mutoriah rejected as insufficient for the value of his work.
Efforts to renegotiate were unsuccessful, prompting the artist to move forward with legal action.
By Vivian K.