“Fela” at the heart of copyright infringement claims

In a law suit filed in a US District Court in Manhattan, Moore’s lawyers asked the courts to close the show, claiming playwright Jim Lewis and director Bill T. Jones stole his work. In the $5 million copyright suit, the author says in 2007 he was offered $4,000 for the rights to his biography, but […]

In a law suit filed in a US District Court in Manhattan, Moore’s lawyers asked the courts to close the show, claiming playwright Jim Lewis and director Bill T. Jones stole his work. In the $5 million copyright suit, the author says in 2007 he was offered $4,000 for the rights to his biography, but rejected the sum as “grossly insufficient.”

Moore says he was asked to consult on the show in 2009, and believed that he would be compensated for this work. But, according to court papers, after he demanded “an advance and participation in the royalty pool,” no other offers were made. Moore claims that his book was to create the musical without his “knowledge, authorisation or consent.” The lawsuit also said Moore also was never compensated for a videotaped interview he did to support the show.

The producers of the play have expressed shock at the law suit, saying they had believed Moore had endorsed their effort and was even quoted on a website promoting the musical.

The suit stemmed from allegations by Moore that sections of his book were copied verbatim into the musical without his authorisation. The section dubbed “The  Black Pages” in which Fela’s mother was fictionalised by Moore as Afa Ojo “She Who Commands Rain” urging her son to not give up his struggle.

Cassava Republic Press, publishers of the biography in Nigeria, claim that “The Black Pages”, hitherto unpublished in versions published in Europe and America, are only available in its version published this year. The book was first published in 1982, a year after the Afrobeat King authorised Moore to write his biography because he was convinced he would soon die.

The legend did not die until 15 years later (in 1997) and 13 years on, he is at the heart of yet another controversy – only this time, he is not alive to see how this one unfolds.