On any ordinary day in Ghana, a bored viewer can easily flip through TV channels and find a range of movies—mostly from Hollywood and Nollywood—being aired.

While these films are mainly shown to entertain and keep audiences glued, there may be a more serious and possibly illegal side to it.

Recently, popular Nigerian actress and filmmaker Bimbo Ademoye publicly accused some Ghanaian TV stations of airing her movies without her permission.

In response, key government officials like Sam George, Minister of Communication, Digital Technology and Innovation, and Kafui Danku-Pitcher, Executive Secretary of the National Film Authority (NFA), promised to take quick action to address the issue.

But not everyone sees a problem.

Ghanaian media personality and plus-size advocate, Miz Debbie, argued that these TV stations are actually helping to promote Bimbo’s movies. According to her, the actress should be thankful for the exposure.

This isn't a new controversy. In the past, Nigerian filmmakers like Omoni Oboli and Ruth Kadiri have also complained about their works being aired in Ghana without their consent.

This brings up an important question: Is it illegal to show a movie—whether local or foreign—without the owner's permission? Or is it just free publicity for the filmmaker?

To get clear answers, GhanaWeb spoke exclusively with Intellectual Property (IP) lawyer, Emmanuel Kantam Duut Esq., for expert insights.

“It’s a total infringement of the copyright of the producers. It’s very clear. Before you can air someone’s movie, there are specific rules regarding the broadcasting of copyrighted works,” Duut said.

What the law actually says

According to Ghana’s Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690), television stations are legally required to obtain authorisation from copyright holders before airing any film, whether local or foreign.

Duut added, "Sections 5 and 6 of the Copyright Act, 2005 (Act 690) provide for the Economic and Moral rights of owners of copyrighted works. A movie, when produced, falls within the category of audio-visual and literary works (movie script) captured under Section 1 of Act 690 as works protected under Copyright. The invocation of the economic rights and moral rights therefore necessitates the grant of permission from the owner before airing the movie and the acknowledgement of the authorship of the movie."

Failure to do so constitutes copyright infringement and can result in both civil and criminal penalties.

Duut explained, “Especially once the person has expended resources in coming up with that movie, permission has to be sought before airing those movies because these television stations receive syndication royalties or retransmission royalties whenever the movie is streamed by viewers. The Legal name for the kind of royalties a movie producer is entitled to following such streams is known as Residuals or Broadcast License Payments. Hence, a Television Station needs a grant of a licence (permission) from a movie producer before airing the movie.”

“Anytime an individual screens (a film), they are expected to make some money out of it, especially with their social media pages. Now that these television stations even have social media pages and all of that, it constitutes a blatant disregard of the copyright of these movie producers.”

The role of the National Film Authority

The National Film Authority (NFA), the official body in charge of regulating Ghana’s film industry, has also supported these concerns.

In a directive issued in 2024, the NFA reminded all television stations and media houses that films are protected under Ghana’s copyright laws.

The Authority explained that only copyright owners have the legal right to decide how their films are used. This means media houses must get proper licences or permission before showing any of these films on air.

“It is important to note that movies or films constitute protected copyright works under Ghanaian law, and as such, the creator/copyright owner of the movie or film holds exclusive rights to the usage of the movie or film.

“Accordingly, any terrestrial channel owner or media house that intends to broadcast/air a movie or film to its viewers must obtain the requisite authorisation or licence from the creator/copyright owner of the movie or film. Broadcasting/airing a movie or film without authorisation from the creator/copyright owner constitutes a copyright infringement, which attracts both civil and criminal liabilities,” a letter issued by the NFA in 2024 said.

The “Promotion” argument

One common defence by those accused of airing films without permission is the claim that they are "promoting" the filmmaker’s work.

But Duut strongly disagrees.

“It's a very cheap way of buying your rights or your licence to air the movie,” Duut replied.

He said producers already have marketing budgets to promote their films through trailers and targeted platforms.

“The producers themselves have a marketing or a distributor who would be able to handle that. Most of these producers have their own distributors and marketers to promote their movies.

They already have trailers or excerpts of the movie and air them on social media so that a lot of people will later come to watch the full movie on YouTube,” he stated.

So, if a TV station truly wants to promote a movie, it should show trailers or short clips—not the full film—unless it has the right permission.

In its 2024 directive, the National Film Authority (NFA) gave clear instructions to all free-to-air TV stations and media houses, urging them to:

"Conduct comprehensive assessments of all movies or films currently being broadcast on their platforms.

"Verify that the necessary authorisations or licences have been obtained from the respective copyright holders for each film.

"Immediately cease broadcasting any movie or film for which proper authorisation has not been secured until such authorisation is obtained."