Sarkodie
Ghanaian Rapper, Sarkodie, known in private life as Michael Owusu Addo has sued Ecobank Ghana Limited for using his image and likeness for a campaign without his consent.
The case, which was filed before a High Court in Accra, accuses the bank of using the rapper’s look-alike in its anti-fraud campaign dubbed #ItsGivingScam.
The advert displays a young man with a striking resemblance of Sarkodie, with the accompanying message ‘Looks can be deceiving.’
The rapper and his team find this offensive given the fact that he is a brand ambassador for First Bank, a competitor to Ecobank, and the impression it creates that he endorsed the campaign.
The suit has generated mixed reaction, especially on social media, with some calling it a long shot while others think the rapper did the right thing to protect a future misuse of his image.
Sarkodie is seeking among others, a declaration that the conduct of Ecobank in publishing his image in relation to its product is a breach of his intellectual property and provisions of the Protection Against Unfair Competition Act (Act 589).
He is also seeking a perpetual injunction to restrain Ecobank, its agents and assigns from associating his image with its products without his consent.
Again, Sarkodie wants an order for Ecobank to withdraw all publications of his image in relation to its products.
The rapper is also praying an order for Ecobank to pay him damages as compensation for breach of the intellectual property rights as well as costs.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak