Court of Appeal dismisses COSON’s bid to halt NCC action, awards N200,000 costs

From Godwin Tsa Abuja

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an interlocutory appeal filed by the Copyright Society of Nigeria Ltd/Gte (COSON) against the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), affirming a Federal High Court ruling that refused to grant COSON an injunction against the Commission.

In a unanimous judgment delivered on July 9, 2026, the Lagos division of the appellate court awarded costs of ₦200,000 against COSON.

The lead judgment was delivered by Hon. Justice Polycarp Terna Kwahar, JCA, with Hon. Justice Folasade Ayodeji Ojo, JCA, and Hon. Justice Muslim Sule Hassan, JCA, concurring.

The appeal stemmed from COSON’s substantive suit challenging aspects of the Copyright (Collective Management Organisations) Regulations, 2007. Pending determination of that suit, COSON had asked the Federal High Court for an interlocutory injunction to stop the NCC from revoking its operating approval or interfering with its management, funds, bank accounts, audits and royalty-collection activities.

The Federal High Court refused the application in a ruling delivered on December 1, 2021, holding that an interlocutory injunction cannot restrain an act already completed. COSON’s operating approval had been suspended in April 2018 and had expired by effluxion of time in May 2019  both developments predating the filing of the substantive suit and the injunction application.

Dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal resolved the sole issue for determination in favour of the NCC, holding that there was no existing or valid approval left for the lower court to preserve through an injunction.

Justice Kwahar noted that both parties’ affidavit evidence showed COSON’s operations had already become inoperative by suspension of its licence and subsequent expiration before the suit was filed at the lower court.

The appellate court reaffirmed that an interlocutory injunction is meant to preserve the state of affairs as it existed before litigation, not to reverse an act already completed before proceedings began.

Since COSON’s approval had already lapsed, the injunction sought would have altered rather than preserved the status quo.

The Court of Appeal accordingly dismissed the appeal for lack of merit and affirmed the Federal High Court’s ruling.

Reacting to the judgment, the NCC welcomed the decision, saying it confirms there is no subsisting operating approval for any court to preserve by injunction.

The Commission reiterated that COSON is not presently approved to operate as a collective management organisation (CMO).