Issue an apology! Nonini threatens to sue influencer Brian Mutinda over copyright infringement.

Musician Hubert Nakitare, alias Nonini has threatened to sue brand influencer Brian Mutinda and electronics company, Synix for using his song without permission.The company featured Mutinda on an advert for one of their products, and used Nonini’s song, We Kamu.

In a letter addressed to Synix, the veteran musician threatened to take legal action against them over copyright infringement.Nonini argued that the influencer and the company used his song for their own financial and capitalistic gain respectively.
“In this case, the influencer under the engagement of Syinix Electronics used our client’s copyrights for his own financial gain and for Syinix Electronics’ capitalistic gain without permission of our client hence amounting to copyright infringement,” the letter read in part.

The musician noted that the company should have reached out to him before producing the advertisement.
“A synchronization license is required no matter how small a portion of the song you use especially for commercial purposes. If a song is synced on a video you will need to pay the composer of the song no matter how small the portion of the composition is used,” he said.

As such, Nonini has demanded a public apology from the influencer and the electronics company within seven days.He also directed that the video be pulled down from their respective social media platforms failure to which legal action will be taken.
“Should you choose to ignore this demand, we have mandatory unequivocal instruction from our client to institute legal proceedings against both of you in a court of law,” the letter further read.

Nonini advised musicians to be keen on matters involving copyrights.
“Music rightsholders know how to defend their rights, and not having a sync license puts your company at risk. The music industry earns its revenue from copyrights and so music rights holders please take legal action against any form of infringement,” he stated.

Article By Suzy Nyongesa.