An Intellectual Property Attorney has urged the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Tourism of Ministry to step back and avoid its direct response to musician Kirani Ayat on a suspected pirate.

Sarah Anku has advised the GTA and the Tourism Ministry to find out if the agency it claimed obtained the content from had sought permission and license to use Ayat’s content.

Speaking on Joy News’ The Pulse, she noted that the posture of the GTA leaves much to be desired.

“I have seen the notice from the Ghana Tourism Authority and I was a bit concerned about the posture to say that they obtained it from an agency and so it was legitimately obtained. Yes, they may have obtained that video clip from the agency but I would advise that they should step back, find out whether the agency actually obtained the right from the owner before using it.

“I would advise the GTA to step back and reconsider their decision if what I am reading is true because in that notice they have even stated how long they have been infringing on the gentleman’s right,” she told Blessed Sogah.

According to her, the GTA if found guilty of copyright infringement could face a civil and criminal prosecution and be liable to a jail term and a fine.

She applauded Ayat Kirat for his action taken as it emboldens and promotes the need for persons to seek permission from original owners of content before any copyright action.

“As a nation we need to practicalise this intellectual property, let us enforce our rights and through the purpose of our rights a lot more people will be aware of that,” she added.

Musician Kirani Ayat called out the Tourism Ministry and the GTA for copyright infringement after a video shared on President Akufo-Addo’s social media handles promoting tourism used footage from his ‘Guda’ music video.

Kirani Ayat has since not been pleased to see his work used without his consent.

“The president of Ghana has used my video “GUDA” in this ad to promote Ghana. I was actively reaching out to the Ministry of Tourism in 2018/19 to use this video to push tourism in the North and got NO reply, yet today it’s in an ad and no one reached out to me for permission,” he wrote on Twitter.

Meanwhile,  the GTA in response said it legitimately obtained the content from an agency as part of a project in 2019.

“This is without prejudice to any legal options available to the Authority against the Artiste and/or Agency or vice versa. The Authority has been very supportive of the Arts and has created platforms for engagement and performances for our Artistes, and we will continue to do so in our quest to make Ghana the preferred tourism destination,” they added.