The court has declined to set a hearing date for a contempt suit against Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore. FILE Nation Media Group
By GALGALLO FAYO
IN SUMMARY
JB Maina wants the court to act against Mr Collymore and three other executives for allegedly disobeying orders issued in May.
The musician had on Tuesday asked the court to set a date for the contempt charges even as he continued to pursue a settlement with Safaricom.
But Justice Francis Gikonyo declined to fix a date for the contempt suit to allow the out-of-court settlement process to proceed without conditions.
SHARE THIS STORY
The High Court has declined to set a hearing date for a contempt suit against Safaricom chief executive Bob Collymore to allow for an out-of-court settlement in the copyright row with a musician.
John Boniface Maina, popularly known as JB Maina, wants the court to act against Mr Collymore and three other executives for allegedly disobeying orders issued in May.
The musician had on Tuesday asked the court to set a date for the contempt charges even as he continued to pursue a settlement with Safaricom.
“We hoped to record consent but this has delayed. We need a date for the application dated October 10, 2013 (contempt suit) before Judge Kimondo,” said David Gikunda, the representing JB Maina.
But Justice Francis Gikonyo declined to fix a date for the contempt suit to allow the out-of-court settlement process to proceed without conditions.
“Negotiations are matters of trust and good faith so I will not fix the contempt application for hearing before judge (George) Kimondo to allow negotiations free of coercion,” ruled Justice Gikonyo.
The court directed the parties to appear before it on January 23 to report the status of the negotiations.
The musician and Safaricom informed the court of the negotiations on November 20 and agreed to complete it in 10 days but that did not appear to have happened.
READ: Safaricom CEO in out-of-court deal over copyright row
The High Court in May restrained Safaricom from storing and selling Mr Maina’s Kikuyu songs and directed the telecoms company to grant the musician access to its head offices to enable him make copies of all the purchases and sales records for his songs.
Mr Maina later complained that Safaricom did not comply with the orders, prompting the contempt suit.
The musician also wants the court to punish Alex Mwenga, the CEO of Interactive Media Services; Sydney Wachira (head of Liberty Afrika); and Maurice Okoth, the chief executive of Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) over the same matter.
Mr Maina’s suit is centered around Safaricom’s alleged use his songs as ringtones through its “Skiza” and “Surf 2 Win Promotion”.
Safaricom insists it signed a Content Provision Agreement with Interactive Media Services and Liberty Afrika Technologies, which are licensed by the MCSK.
The firm maintains that payments linked to the download of Mr Maina’s music were made to Liberty Afrika as per the content provision agreement.
No comments :
Post a Comment