Tech expert Kobby Spiky wins copyright infringement case against CAF; shares his story

Ghanaian tech expert, Kwabena Ofei-Kwadey Nkrumah, popularly known as Kobby Spiky, after years of a legal battle against the Confederation of African Football (CAF), for infringing on his copyrights, has finally won his case.

The verdict was given by the Commercial Court 7 in Accra on Wednesday, July 17, 2024.

The court found CAF guilty of not seeking permission from Kobby Spiky before using the beat of his music titled, ‘Okomfo Anokye,’ as part of its promotional materials for the 2018 CAF awards.

Expressing his excitement after winning the legal battle, Kobby Spiky wrote on Facebook: “A win for the creative industry: CAF vs Spiky’s.”

Kobby Spiky would not have gotten here if he had listened to a few people he spoke to about the case, most of whom asked him to let it go, while others pointed out to him that he might not be able to win a case against CAF.

Justice Emmanuel Loddoh who presided over the case, awarded damages of Ghana Cedis equivalent of USD250,000 and a legal cost of GHS 40,000 against CAF.

The buzz – when it surfaced that the tech expert and music producer had been awarded USD250,000 – was around the money, but what did the young man endure in all these years that he has had to battle the Confederation of African Football?

Speaking to Serwaa Amihere on GhOne about the case, Kobby Spikey said he decided to sue CAF after a series of tweets and emails were not taken seriously.

He added that CAF had apologized for using his soundtrack without his permission, but he didn’t hear from them when he asked that he be compensated.

Speaking further, Kobby Spiky believed that this wasn’t just a win for him, but for the creative industry, as they can take people on when their work is used without their permission.

Watch below, as Kobby Spiky shares the story of what happened: