I almost gave up – Rex Omar on Joy Dadi suit

Musician Rex Omar has said he nearly gave in to the frustrations associated with the lawsuit he filed against Joy Industries Limited for using his intellectual property without his consent.

What kept him going, according to the veteran, was his burning desire to prove a point that musicians can fight for their rights and win.

“It got to a point I asked myself ‘why should I even continue especially when they wanted to settle out of court’. But the most important thing is, this whole thing was for the industry, this win is for the industry so we’re able to send the signal to everybody, corporate Ghana who use people’s works and go scot-free. It’s the love of the industry that kept me,” he told MzGee in an interview.

On June 15, 2015, Rex Omar sued Joy Industries Limited for using parts of his “Dada dida” song to promote and advertise their product, Joy Dadi Bitters' without his permission.

He secured an interlocutory injunction in November restraining Joy Industries Limited from using his works.

The court further ordered that directors, officers, agents and servants of Joy Dadi Bitters should stop any electronic media from playing the commercial immediately, pending the final determination of the case.

After almost 5 years of legal battle, the Koforidua High Court on Wednesday January 30, 2019 slapped Joy Industries Limited with damages of GHc200,000.

The court also awarded costs of GHc30,000 to the veteran musician.

“I thank my lawyers. For 5 years, they’ve been going to Koforidua,” said Rex Omar.