Ugandan singer and songwriter Bruno Kiggundu, popularly known as Bruno K, has secured a major legal victory after the High Court awarded him Shs 130 million in compensation for copyright violations committed by an American music company.
Justice Patricia Mutesi of the Commercial Division ruled that Black Market Media, a U.S.–based promotion label that set up operations in Uganda in 2020, illegally profited from Bruno K’s creative work without his authorization.
According to the judgment, the company engaged in unlawful conduct by issuing false copyright complaints, distributing his music without consent, taking down his YouTube content, and benefiting commercially from songs they had no rights to.
“The plaintiff’s copyright was violated when his songs were removed from YouTube, his channels suspended, false infringement claims issued, and his music distributed without consent or payment,” Justice Mutesi stated. “The 4th defendant unlawfully exploited the plaintiff’s work and failed to remit royalties.”
The court awarded Shs 100 million as general damages and an additional Shs 30 million as aggravated damages.
Background of the Dispute
Court documents show that Bruno K had signed a contract with Black Market Records LLC, under which he would compose music while the company handled promotion and royalty distribution. However, the singer told court that the company became unreachable soon after the agreement was made, and he terminated the contract after producing only one collaborative song.
After ending the deal, Bruno began releasing his music independently on his YouTube channels. It was at this point that Black Market Records filed complaints to YouTube accusing him of infringing on songs they claimed to own.
The platform subsequently suspended his channels due to repeated copyright strikes.
Reinstatement and Court Discovery
Bruno later found out that Black Market Records LLC had been struck off the California company registry in March 2013, long before it purported to sign a contract with him. This revelation helped YouTube restore his channels — Bruno K and Real Dance Crew — after determining the complaints were baseless.
The court’s ruling marks a significant win for Ugandan musicians facing exploitation and strengthens local artists’ rights over their intellectual property.
