Obrafour sues Drake for infringement of copyright
For using a sample of his 2003 remix of “Oye Ohene” on the song “Calling My Name” off his “Honestly Nevermind” album, Ghanaian musician Obrafour has sued Drake for $10 million.
A piece of Obrafour’s song, “Calling My Name,” was utilized by the Canadian rapper without his permission, according to court filings filed in New York. Obrafour claimed that this violated his copyright, and that individuals involved in the development of “Calling My Name” had gained monetarily from his work.
Remember that on June 20, 2022, God’s Plan artist Drake startled his fans with his “Honestly, Nevermind” and included a sample from the 2003 remix of “Oye Ohene” by Ghanaian rapper Obrafour on his Track 6 named “Calling My Name.”
Obrafour is requesting that the court order the parties to pay him $10 million in damages as recompense for his works, among other things.
Parts of the statement read as follows: “Defendants issued the Infringing Work on June 17, 2022, despite the fact that an agent of one or more Defendants had previously contacted Obrafour to ask for Obrafour’s consent to utilize the Copyrighted Work in the Infringing Work. Obrafour never gave the defendants permission to use the copyrighted work, and just a few days after the infringement was made public.
The singer of the hit song “Pae Mu Ka” added that the respondents in the aforementioned infringement case had reaped enormous benefits, including producing enormous sums of global streams and sales across a variety of platforms, while claiming that they had also been exploited by the Defendants through other methods, such as live performances.
“To date, over the merely 304 days that have elapsed since the Infringing Work was released, the Infringing Work has already been streamed over 4.1 million times on YouTube, over 47,442,160 times on Spotify, and streamed tens of millions of times on Apple Music.”
“The Infringing Work has been exploited by the Defendants via other means, including live performance, in addition to generating enormous sums of global streams and sales across a variety of platforms.”
The seasoned rapper from Ghana is also requesting a ruling requiring “defendants and their agents, employees, officers, attorneys, successors, licensees, partners, and assigns, and all persons acting in concert or participation with each or any one of them, to cease directly and indirectly infringing, and causing, enabling, facilitating, encouraging, promoting, inducing, and/or participating in the infringement of any of Obrafour’s rights protected by the Copyright Act.”
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