A Bulawayo restaurant, Red Café’, is threatening to take Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura) to court after a member of staff was detained at Drill Hall police station for the eatery’s failure to pay licence fees.
Last week a waitress at Red Café was arrested and detained
for six hours until the owner paid fine.
Babongile Sikhonjwa, the proprietor of Red Cafe admitted
not adhering to the Copyright Act, but queried the arrest and detention of his
staffer.
“They came last week and demanded the payment of a fine for
not adhering to the copyright act and the police who were with the officials
arrested a waitress and detained her for close to six hours at Drill Hall until
I went there and paid the fine,” Sikhonjwa told Standard Style.
“After failing to reach level ground with one of the Zimura
officials, who was overzealous and rude only identified as Tawanda, I then
called Zimura executive director Polisile Ncube Chimhini.
“She [Ncube Chimhini] said it was government’s policy, so
there was nothing amiss in arresting the waitress, she was adamant that that’s
the law and they had followed the right procedure.
“However, we are going to take legal action against Zimura,
we are not quiring the fine part, but illegally detaining a member of staff
because the company failed to pay a fine”.
Sikhonjwa said the fact that his restaurant has a public
announcement system, radio and television doesn’t mean that they play Zimura
clients’ music.
“They should prove that we play their client’s music and do
they even have a system that shows, which of their clients have copyrighted their
music,” he said.
“Those are the issues we have on them and we are definitely
taking legal action.”
Ncube Chimhini said there was nothing sinister about the
arrest.
“What happened in Bulawayo is what Zimura usually does when
we are undertaking raids,” she said.
“The procedure is, we are a collecting society which
licences music users in business premises and everywhere where the public has
got access to, this we do by moving around the country, visiting business
people be it bars, night clubs, restaurants hotels and we start with the
broadcasters themselves, all the broadcasters are licensed with Zimura.
“After we collect the copyright fees.
“We distribute royalties to artists so what happens is our
license inspectors move around and identify people who are using music and tell
them of the need to of obtain a copyright license after that the business is
issued with an invoice, which is payable within seven days.
“In the event that it’s not paid with seven days, Zimura
then solicits the services of the Zimbabwe Republic Police and once our
inspectors start moving with the police, it’s the police that arrest copyright
infringers, and once you are arrested you are no longer in the hands of Zimura,
but of the police and the fines that were being talked about that the waiters
were being made to pay is not Zimura fines, but the police fines.
“The other procedure after the person is taken by the
police it has nothing to do with Zimura.”
She went on to explain, who is liable for arrest if
copyright is infringed.
“It’s not an issue of professions, it’s not us who were
arresting and it’s not about arresting a waitress but it’s an issue of music
users if found in a bar or restaurant where music is being played and you are
in charge, the probability is that the police is going to take you to the
police station,” Ncube Chimhini said.
“The Copyright Act in Section 51.5 provides that where
copyright has been infringed the person who is actually using the gadget is
liable for copyright infringement, the owner of the premise is also liable, the
person who brought the gadget into the building is liable for copyright
infringement so that’s the basis for taking the person who is found on the
premise when copyright is being infringed.”
Zimura is always at loggerheads with musicians. Recently
they were in a heated argument with Chillspot Recordz duo of Levelz and DJ
Fantan who claimed that the association should pay royalties even for unregistered
members. Standard
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