Contents

1. Summary
   1. Facts
   2. Holding
2. Comment
3. Further resources
4. Decision

Summary

Pro-Line Soccer Academy sued MTN Uganda for infringing image rights of "Uganda Cranes" players after their contract expired. MTN claimed rights via a FUFA sponsorship. The court found MTN liable for unauthorised use of the images, ruling Pro-Line, as exclusive licensee, owned the image rights. Pro-Line was awarded damages.

Facts

Pro-Line Soccer Academy Limited, a company involved in promoting soccer in Uganda, claimed that MTN Uganda Limited infringed on image rights. Pro-Line had an agreement with eight members of the "Uganda Cranes" (national soccer team) to manage the commercial use of their images.

They then contracted with M/s CQ Saathi & Saathi, an advertising agency, to procure eleven "Uganda Cranes" members for photoshoots to be used in MTN Uganda's advertising for one year, which expired on 8th September 2008. Pro-Line was to be paid Shs. 114,120,000/= for these image rights. Pro-Line argued that despite the contract's expiration, MTN continued using the images without consent, thus infringing on the image rights vested in Pro-Line by the players. Pro-Line sought Shs. 342,360,000/= in damages for the period from 8th September 2007 to 8th September 2011, as well as general damages.

• 1st Defendant's Defence (MTN Uganda Limited): MTN contended that Pro-Line had no grounds to sue them. MTN argued that they weren't bound by the agreement between Pro-Line and M/s CQ Saathi & Saathi. MTN claimed to have a sponsorship arrangement with the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) since May 2007, granting them rights to use images of "Uganda Cranes" team members in their advertising. MTN stated that they obtained property rights in the images through this agreement and hadn't violated any of Pro-Line's rights.
• 2nd Defendant's Defence (M/s CQ Saathi & Saathi): M/s CQ Saathi & Saathi argued the suit was barred by limitation and misconceived. They contended that their role as MTN's agent ceased when the contract expired on 7th September 2007 and that any continued use of the material was solely MTN's responsibility.
• 3rd Party's Defence (FUFA (Uganda) Limited): FUFA denied liability, stating they were not party to the agreement between Pro-Line and M/s CQ Saathi & Saathi. FUFA asserted that as the national institution for soccer in Uganda, they had the mandate to organise international matches for the "Uganda Cranes," giving them rights to the images of the individual players as a national team. They claimed Pro-Line did not have image rights in any four or more players wearing national team attire and that their contract with MTN was separate from MTN's agreement with Pro-Line.

The court framed the issues for determination as; whether Pro-Line owns the players’/models’ image rights in issue, whether the defendants are in breach of any contract, whether the plaintiff is entitled to payment for continued use of its models’ images for the period of three years in line with the contract dated 7th September, 2007 and whether the parties are entitled to the remedies sought.

The court found that image rights are a right to control the commercial use of one’s image, vested in the individual soccer players. The eleven players did not assign their individual rights to any of the defendants nor the third party, only to the plaintiff. The first defendant generated revenue from the unlawful use of images until 2013. The third party could not have acquired the private image rights simply by being a national regulator of the sport.

Legal provisions reviewed

The court considered the following legal provisions:

• Article 27 of The Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995. This relates to the protection of the right to privacy.
• The Data Protection and Privacy Act, 9 of 2019. This act was enacted to protect individual privacy and personal data by regulating the collection and processing of personal information.