The Accra high court has dismissed Mantse Aryeequaye’s copyright ownership case against Obrafour and music producer Dave Hammer.
The case centered around Obrafour’s alleged claim of sole ownership of the ‘killer cut blood’ phrase used in the popular track ‘Oye Ohene.’
Mantse contended that Obrafour had copyrighted the phrase in the US without proper permission or the transfer of rights. He argued that his spoken word piece titled “Killer Cut” was included in ‘Oye Ohene’ with permission, but without any transfer of rights or permission for Obrafour to claim ownership. Furthermore, Mantse asserted that the ‘Killer Cut’ was initially a separate recording, later infused into Obrafour’s song by Hammer to enhance it.
The legal conflict heightened when, upon learning of Drake’s interest in using a part of ‘Oye Ohene,’ Mantse sought a meeting with Obrafour and Hammer, but none of his requests materialized. Subsequently, he discovered that Obrafour had registered the track with the contested phrase in the US, allegedly infringing on Mantse’s intellectual property and attempting to secure exclusive payment for his work.
On February 25, 2023, the Accra high court dismissed Mantse’s case, citing inconsistencies and breaches of court rules in his writ. As part of the resolution, the court awarded Gh 10,000 to both Hammer and Obrafour.
