Ghanaian fashion designer Jeremiah Obuobi (L) and rapper Sarkodie (R)
Ghanaian fashion designer Jeremiah Obuobi has recalled how Sarkodie “stole” his ideas during a clothing line project.
One would recall that in 2013, Obuobi, popularly known as OBJ, filed a GH¢ 90,000 lawsuit against Sarkodie, accusing the musician of stealing his idea under the guise of starting a clothing business with him.
In light of recent developments, where Sarkodie is taking legal action against Ecobank for using his lookalike in a promotional campaign, Jeremiah, who believes karma is at play, has reminded people of how Sarkodie unfairly took his ideas back in 2013.
Recalling how it all began, Jeremiah explained that he came up with the brand name Sark, T-shirts, and also the logos with the head of Sarkodie.
He stated that Sarkodie requested samples of the T-shirt designs for his fans during his 2014 Rapperholic concert.
According to OBJ, just when he could finalise a business deal with the rapper, he read in the media that Sarkodie had launched a clothing line called Sark Collection, which was his idea.
“In 2011, I designed a sneaker called OBJ Sark 1. It was intended to be a collaboration between myself and Sarkodie. The name Sark didn’t exist back then. I coined it out of Sarkodie‘s name and created a logo featuring his head.
“We met with Sarkodie‘s team and presented the idea where Sammy Forson encouraged us to return with a prototype… We spent 8 months developing a prototype and when we wanted to present it to them, there was no avail,” he said.
OBJ continued, “At the 2012 Rapperholic concert, I was asked to print the same logo I had designed on T-shirts which were worn at the event… We never heard from Sarkodie or his management until 2013 when I discovered that shoes and clothing were being sold under the Sark brand.”
The fashion designer also disclosed how after Sarkodie‘s team decided to pay GH¢ 20,000 during the legal tussle but on the day of payment, his lawyers didn’t show up in court.
“I took to issue to the copyright office as a professional and I was told by Sarkodie that they were going to pay. But that didn’t happen so I took the matter to court and we spent 3 years in court… out of the GH¢90,000, Sarkodie‘s team decided to GH¢20,000 but on the day of negotiation, neither Sarkodie nor the lawyer showed up.
“The Sark brand name and the illustrated logos were my creation even if they were based on Sarkodie’s name,” he added.
OBJ further quizzed Sarkodie for suing Ecobank for copyright infringement after doing similar thing to him.
“It’s interesting that Sarkodie is suing Ecobank for almost the same copyright infringement he did against me 10 years ago. This is food for thought,” he maintained.
Watch the video below:
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