By John Azu
The Court of Appeal in Lagos has dismissed an interlocutory appeal filed by the Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte (COSON) against the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), affirming an earlier decision of the Federal High Court.
In a unanimous judgment delivered by a three-member panel comprising Justices Polycarp Terna Kwahar, Folasade Ayodeji Ojo, and Muslim Sule Hassan, the appellate court held that the appeal lacked merit and awarded costs of N200,000 against COSON.
Although the judgment was delivered on July 9, it was made available to journalists by the NCC on July 25.
The ruling upholds the Federal High Court’s refusal to grant an interlocutory injunction sought by COSON to restrain the Commission.
In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal resolved the sole issue in favour of the NCC, holding that there was no valid or subsisting operating approval for the lower court to preserve through an injunction.
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Kwahar stated:
“Both the Appellant and the Respondent have demonstrated, through their affidavit evidence, that the Appellant’s operations had, prior to the commencement of the suit, become inoperative by virtue of the suspension of the Appellant’s licence and its expiration by effluxion of time. That is the status quo ante bellum before the commencement of the suit at the lower court.”
The appeal stemmed from COSON’s substantive suit challenging certain provisions of the Copyright (Collective Management Organisations) Regulations, 2007, which remains pending before the Federal High Court.
As part of the suit, COSON had sought an interlocutory injunction restraining the NCC from revoking its operating approval or interfering with its management, funds, bank accounts, audits, and royalty collection activities.
However, in a ruling delivered on December 1, 2021, the Federal High Court dismissed the application, holding that an interlocutory injunction could not be granted to restrain an act that had already been completed.
The court noted that COSON’s operating approval had been suspended in April 2018 and subsequently expired in May 2019, well before the substantive suit and the application for an injunction were filed.
Reacting to the appellate court’s decision, the Nigerian Copyright Commission welcomed the judgment, describing it as a confirmation that there was no subsisting operating approval capable of being preserved by an injunction.
The Commission reiterated that COSON is not currently approved to operate as a Collective Management Organisation (CMO) in Nigeria.