The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has promulgated a 21-day ultimatum to the artist Davido in relation to allegations of intellectual property misappropriation.
As reported by the People’s Gazette, Davido has been litigated against by a consortium of four Nigerian artists, namely Martins Chukwuka Emmanuel, Abel Great Umaru, Kelvin Ayodele Campbell, and David Ovhioghena Umaru, who assert that Davido illicitly appropriated their 2022 composition ‘Work’ for his own musical piece entitled “Strawberry on Ice,” released in 2024.
Davido is named in the lawsuit in conjunction with the artists who collaborated on the track; specifically, Emmerson, who was featured on Davido’s song, along with Carlos Jenkins, Matthew Quinney, Marques Miles II, and the record label Wynn Records.
According to reports from the People’s Gazette, the plaintiff initially presented his composition titled “Work” to him with the intention of pursuing a collaborative endeavor.
Nevertheless, Davido allegedly transferred the composition to Emmerson, who subsequently appropriated and sampled distinct recorded instrumental and vocal components from ‘Work’ to forge their rendition “Strawberry on Ice.”
The plaintiffs purportedly made contact with him and his team, resulting in an agreement for a settlement amounting to $45,000, which was documented in court records dated March 14, 2025.
Furthermore, the DMW boss consented to allocate 40 percent of royalties from the underlying composition of “Strawberry on Ice” and 20 percent of royalties from the sound recording of the song to the plaintiffs.
However, despite an assurance to remit payment prior to the established deadline of March 24, as agreed upon by all involved parties, the singer did not adhere to the stipulations of the settlement agreement.
