Nipe Haki Yangu Bwana! Producer Sues KTN for "Stealing" Her Ideas

Piece by: Uncle Chim Tuna
Lifestyle

A media practitioner has put up a spirited legal fight against a local media house for stealing her ideas and turning it into a television programme of their own.

Margaret Wambui, a producer with Pillar Praise Productions, on Wednesday sued the Standard Group, Sophie Kamau and the Kenya Copyright Board.

Through lawyer Kennedy Mwaniki, she accused Ms Kamau of auditioning children with an aim of producing and airing through KTN a programme called ‘Kids Singing‘ Competition.

She claimed that the idea emanated from her programme called ‘Kids Can Sing‘.

INFRINGED COPYRIGHT

“The Standard Group working with Ms Kamau through its brand and television station have in utter disregard of the laws in place, infringed the copyright works titled ‘Kids Can Sing’ by auditioning works similar to Ms Wambui’s and is being promoted, this is bound to continue unless this matter is determined expeditiously,” Mr Mwaniki said.

The court was told that should the programme be allowed to continue, Ms Wambui’s intellectual rights would be infringed.

She wants the court to issue orders stopping Ms Kamau, KTN and the Standard Group from producing, promoting and airing the said programme pending the hearing and determination of her case.

According to Ms Wambui, she has a certificate for her audiovisual works of ‘Kids Can Sing‘ dated September 30, 2015.

She said her crew began producing it in May 2014 till December at a cost of Sh13 million entailing 13 episodes.

She claimed that she embarked on search for a local television station to air her programme and met Ms Kamau.

POTENTIAL SPONSORS

She was then asked to give a trailer of her programme on DVD to check her works for consideration as well as potential sponsors for the show in a bid to assess the feasibility of airing it.

Ms Wambui alleged that Ms Kamau told her to await further communication but in the process of waiting, she learnt that KTN was inviting children aged 3 to 13 for a kids singing competition between July 16 and 23.

She wrote to the Kenya Copyright Board on July 4 regarding her discontent and sought protection but has allegedly never received any response.

“If you search my ‘Kids Can Sing‘ programme and that of KTN on YouTube, one can see they appear similar, owing to this similarity I stand to lose financially as they will air my infringed works any moment,” Ms Wambui said.

She wants it declared that her intellectual rights have been infringed, the Standard Group be barred from airing the said programme and that she be compensated for copyright infringement.

High Court judge Isaac Lenaola directed that the case be heard on the 4th of August which was yesterday...