Nigeria clarifies copyright ownership of musical works

The Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed a ₦5 billion copyright claim brought by music producer Michael Oluwole against Nigerian gospel artiste Sinach in relation to her internationally successful song “Way Maker”. In a judgment delivered on 24 July 2026, the Court found that Oluwole had failed to establish that he was a co-author or co-owner of the musical work.

The dispute centred on the distinction between creative authorship and technical production services. The Court found that “Way Maker” had already been written and performed by Sinach before Oluwole was engaged to work on the recording, and held that providing production, mixing or mastering services does not, without evidence of original creative expression, confer authorship or ownership in the underlying musical work.

The decision provides useful guidance for the music and creative industries on the circumstances in which contributors to a recording may acquire copyright interests, particularly where the parties’ respective creative and technical contributions are not clearly documented.