Melcom suit: Court awards Tic Tac GH₵300,000 compensation

Hiplife musician Nana Kwaku Duah alias Tic Tac is laughing all the way to the bank after winning a GH₵300,000 suit against retail outlet Melcom Ghana Limited.

In a judgement delivered by Justice Amo Yartey on Friday, 17th November the retail giants were ordered to pay Tic Tac compensation of GH₵300,000.

The Judge said it was illegal for the company to continuously use the image of the musician when there was no contract.

The court also ordered Melcom to pay Tic Tac, a legal cost of GHC 2,000.

Tic Tac's lawyer Gary Nimako Marfo told the media after the court proceedings that his victory drums home the fact that businesses cannot use the intellectual property of right owners without their consent.

“When you use someone’s intellectual property for your business, you must pay them,” Gary Nimako said.

Background

In 2016, Tic Tac, sued Melcom for breach of contract, demanding GHC500,000 in damages.

A two-year brand ambassadorial contract Tic Tac signed with Melcom expired five years ago. However, the company kept using his image on some of its billboards, making him lose a similar promotional contract after the expiration of his contract with Melcom.

Per the contract signed by the two parties on May 22, 2009, Melcom was permitted to use the images, voice and personal appearance of the musician for advertising and promotional purposes for two years.

Owing to this, the ‘Philomina’ hitmaker was prevented from allowing Melcom’s competitors to use his image and voice on any advertisement or even appear on their shows.