Renowned singer and musician Shehzad Roy has sent a legal notice to Coca-Cola company and Soho Square advertisement company for infringement of intellectual property rights as Coca-Cola used his song ‘Laga Rahe’ in its advertisement campaign.
The singer claims that the company not only used his song without permission but also modified it and distorted its social message. The singer shared it on his Twitter handle.
@CocaCola @CocaCola not only used my song without consent for sprite ad,modified the song n also distorted its social msg by picturising on Godzilla
— Shehzad Roy (@ShehzadRoy) May 19, 2017
Laga Reh is a song I made to protest about injustice and that very song ends up being used illegally by @CocaCola pic.twitter.com/VQ4PQMZTU8
— Shehzad Roy (@ShehzadRoy) May 19, 2017
“I was advised by my friends and colleagues not to get into a legal battle with a giant corporation like Coca-Cola. They felt that powerful individuals and organisations in Pakistan get away with illegally occupying people’s material property, so what hope would I have with claiming my intellectual property rights. But such arguments have only motivated me further to take up this case and fight for my rights, so no other artist in Pakistan has to face such blatant intellectual property rights infringement again. Soho Square has been engaged by Coca-Cola Export Corporation as its agent for the purpose of advertising, marketing and promotion of Coca-Cola Company’s brand ‘Sprite’. Soho Square approached my team to enter into an agreement in order to use my song ‘Laga Rahe’,” Shehzad told Daily Times.
“Soho Square and my team had exchanged drafts of this agreement but the final contract with Soho Square had not been concluded and signed, owing to the fact that I had to further review and revise a few clauses of the agreement.”
“Despite this, Soho Square and Coca-Cola Company went ahead and developed the advertisement of the brand ‘Sprite’ with my licenced song even though I was still reviewing the agreement.”