The Ghana Hotel Association (GHA) has initiated legal action against the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO) and the Audiovisual Rights Society of Ghana (ARSOG), challenging what it describes as the arbitrary imposition of copyright royalties on its members.
According to Dr. Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr., President of the GHA and a key witness in the case, the decision to seek legal redress was a collective one, endorsed by the Association’s National Executive Committee and backed by 34 resolutions passed by its general membership. He dismissed claims by the defendants that the lawsuit was motivated by narrow, self-serving interests.
In its statement of claim, the GHA is seeking a declaration that, in line with Section 37 of the Copyright Act, 2006 (Act 690), as amended by the Copyright Act, 2009 (Act 788), and Regulations 36 and 37 of L.I. 1962, the determination of copyright royalties must be based strictly on actual usage or public performance of copyrighted material—not on the number of hotel rooms or the star ratings of hospitality establishments.
The Association is also asking the court to restrain the defendants from continuing the practice of assessing and collecting royalties based on room count or hotel grading systems, which it views as arbitrary and unlawful. It is further demanding that the defendants cover the legal costs incurred as part of the proceedings.
The lawsuit stems from events dating back to 2014, when GHAMRO and ARSOG began collecting royalties and license fees from hotels and other hospitality businesses. The GHA asserts that these fees were imposed unilaterally and without proper consultation or a transparent formula. Many of its members formally objected to the method used to compute the charges and turned to the Association for support.
Following mounting complaints, the GHA initiated dialogue with both GHAMRO and ARSOG to understand the basis for the fees. These discussions later expanded to include key regulatory and oversight bodies, such as the Ghana Tourism Authority and the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry and Tourism.
Despite these efforts, the Association maintains that GHAMRO’s method of calculating royalties—based on hotel classification rather than actual use of copyrighted works—violates the fundamental principles of copyright law.
The GHA also accuses ARSOG of acting outside the law by independently imposing levies and royalties for alleged use of audiovisual content without following due legal process, including assessment methods mandated by the Copyright Act and its regulations.
The Association claims that its members have faced ongoing harassment and threats of legal action for refusing to comply with what it considers unlawful and unjustified demands. Some members, it says, have already been sued by ARSOG, while others have received demand notices for payments allegedly owed without any lawful basis for the assessment.
“The royalties being claimed by the defendants are arbitrarily assessed and violate the principles of usage-based royalty calculation,” the GHA stated in its filing. “These actions are in breach of both the Copyright Act and the 1992 Constitution, particularly Articles 23 and 296, which require fairness, transparency, and lawful exercise of discretionary power.”
The case is now before the courts, with the hospitality industry keenly watching its outcome, given its potential implications for copyright enforcement in Ghana’s service sectors.
