Ghanaian music icon Michael Owusu Addo, widely recognised by his stage name Sarkodie, has initiated authorized proceedings towards Ecobank Ghana Restricted, submitting a swimsuit on the Business Division of the Excessive Courtroom in Accra.
The case reportedly centres on claims that Ecobank used a person bearing a placing resemblance to Sarkodie in a latest promoting marketing campaign — with out securing the rapper’s permission. This, based on the artist, constitutes a breach of his mental property rights and private model.
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Per authorized paperwork circulating on social media, Sarkodie alleges that the unauthorised use of his likeness has resulted in each reputational harm and monetary losses.
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Reliefs sought by the artist
Sarkodie is requesting common damages, a perpetual injunction to bar the financial institution from additional utilizing his picture, and a directive for the removing of all associated media, whether or not digital or print.
The controversial marketing campaign in query, dubbed #ItsGivingScam, featured a Sarkodie lookalike who’s reportedly signed to First Financial institution Ghana as a inventive. The choice to solid the doppelgänger drew sharp criticism throughout social media platforms, with many questioning the financial institution’s method.
A number of social media customers prompt that Ecobank might have used King Promise, an artiste already affiliated with the financial institution, as a substitute of deploying a lookalike of one other public determine.
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Popular culture journalist Olele Salvador was among the many first to spotlight the difficulty. Posting on X (previously Twitter), he questioned the financial institution’s determination:
Expensive @EcobankGhanaPLC, no vex, however whose concept was this? Who permitted this? Why do you’ve a doppelgänger of a inventive expertise signed to @FirstBankGhana below a marketing campaign #ItsGivingScam? Regulation X, please share how picture rights are being infringed right here. Wozgoyinonn right here?
The unfolding authorized drama raises broader questions round picture rights, model administration, and company duty within the digital advertising house.
