In October 2019, I published an article here titled "Do Your Ideas Really Belong To You?" In that article, I wrote this in the article.
//"The thing about the creative industry, however, is that the driving force behind the industry is ideas; the fruits of the mind, so to speak. A lot of what is a dress is first of all the idea that someone conceived in his/her mind before it became a party gown. A lot of what becomes a hit song is first of all the idea of a melody that someone conceived in their mind before hitting the notes on a piano or clicking them on Fruityloops.
Which brings me to the question; HOW MANY OF US ARE THINKING ABOUT PROTECTING THOSE IDEAS?
And that is where intellectual property comes into play. Your ideas are only as good as yours when you take the time to protect them via copyright or a trademark...
As we advance and the creativity industry grows and eventually matures it won’t be long before we start hearing that so and so person stole so-and-so beat....
But when push comes to shove and things have to take a legal turn, it becomes difficult to get any kind of compensation out of the whole brouhaha.//"
Why am I bringing this up again?
In the Netflix series "Ozark" a song by Francis Bebey, our Francis Bebey, that has been plagiarized by an American musician called Theophilus London played in an episode of the series.
As it turns out, Francis Bebey's estate was never asked permission and never compensated for the copyrights to the song. No doubt they will take some legal action and they will be duly compensated.
So... Shine your eye.
Below are the links to the original song and the plagiarised version.
Francis Bebey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bY2pigFyXG0
Theophilus London: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pJwFzJs864
Again, shine your eyes
. - Wandji Wilfred
