Bruno K Wins UGX 130M Court Case Against Black Market Records

Bruno Kiggundu, better known as Bruno K, has won a court case against an American music company and will receive UGX 130 million in compensation for copyright infringement.

Justice Patricia Mutesi of the High Court’s Commercial Division ruled that Black Market Media, a U.S.-based company with offices in Uganda, illegally profited from Bruno’s music. The judge said the company took down Bruno’s songs from YouTube, removed his channels, filed false copyright claims, and distributed his music without paying him or getting his permission.

As a result, the court awarded Bruno UGX 100 million in general damages and UGX 30 million in aggravated damages.

According to court documents, Bruno had signed a deal with Black Market Records LLC to create and promote music and share royalties. But after releasing just one collaborative song, Bruno said the company became hard to reach. When the deal expired, he ended it and started producing and uploading his own music to YouTube.

That’s when Black Market Records filed copyright claims, accusing him of using music they said they still owned. YouTube responded by suspending his channels due to repeated copyright complaints.

Later, Bruno found out that Black Market Records had been removed from California’s company registry back in 2013, which meant the company wasn’t legally allowed to enter into contracts. This information helped Bruno convince YouTube to restore his two channels: Bruno K and Real Dance Crew.