Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos has dismissed an interlocutory appeal filed by the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON) against the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), affirming the Federal High Court’s decision refusing to grant an injunction against the Commission.
In a unanimous judgment delivered on July 9, 2026, the three-member panel of the appellate court also awarded ₦200,000 costs against COSON.
The lead judgment was delivered by Justice Polycarp Terna Kwahar, while Justices Folasade Ayodeji Ojo and Muslim Sule Hassan concurred.
The appeal arose from COSON’s substantive suit challenging provisions of the Copyright (Collective Management Organisations) Regulations, 2007.
As part of the suit, COSON had sought an interlocutory injunction restraining the NCC from revoking its operating approval or interfering with its management, funds, bank accounts, audits and royalty collection activities pending the determination of the case.
However, the Federal High Court, in a ruling delivered on December 1, 2021, refused the application, holding that an interlocutory injunction could not be granted to restrain an act that had already been completed.
The lower court noted that COSON’s operating approval had been suspended in April 2018 and expired in May 2019, before the substantive suit and the application for an injunction were filed.
In dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal held that there was no existing or valid operating approval for the lower court to preserve through an injunction.
Justice Kwahar held that the affidavit evidence before the court showed that COSON’s operations had become inoperative before the commencement of the suit following the suspension of its licence and its subsequent expiration.
He stated that an interlocutory injunction was intended to preserve the status quo existing before litigation and cannot be used to reverse an action already completed before court proceedings commenced.
The appellate court consequently dismissed the appeal for lack of merit and affirmed the ruling of the Federal High Court.
Reacting to the judgment, in a statement signed by the Director, Press and Public Relations, NCC, Ijeoma Egbunike for the Director General, the Nigerian Copyright Commission welcomed the decision, saying it confirmed that there was no subsisting operating approval for the court to preserve by way of an injunction.
The Commission reiterated that COSON was not currently approved to operate as a Collective Management Organisation (CMO) in Nigeria.
