[ 2012-06-08 ]

NDC Writes To Konadu Rawlings

The leadership of the ruling National Democratic
Congress (NDC) has formally responded to the wife
of party’s founder, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings’
claim to the party’s logo.

Impeccable information available to The Al-Hajj
indicates that after a thorough and lengthy
evaluation by a crack team of NDC lawyers of an
earlier correspondence from lawyers of the former
first lady laying ownership of the NDC logo, the
party officially wrote back to Nana Konadu,
unequivocally and unambiguously rebutting her
argument that, she is the bonafide owner of the
party’s logo.

In a strongly-worded reaction to Nana Konadu’s
assertions that she is the owner of the party
logo, lawyers for the NDC reminded the former
first lady that the logo in question is the
property of the party, which has been legally
registered with the Electoral Commission since
1992 as provided by the Political Parties Law and
therefore cannot be the property of one person as
she had alluded to.

According to the erudite lawyers’ communication to
Nana Konadu, who also happens to be the wife of
the founder of the NDC, Jerry John Rawlings; she
cannot lay claim to a paraphernalia that belongs
to a registered and legally operating political
party, in used for about 20 years, irrespective of
her claim that she has registered the logo and
therefore, makes her the copy right owner.

Nearly two weeks after the receipt of the letter
from the National Democratic Congress, Nana Konadu
has so far not reacted.

A source close to her told The Al-Hajj that “madam
will not mind them, she is keeping her cards close
to her chest, with all options opened, including,
but not limited to heading to court at the last
minute where it will hurt them (NDC) most.

However, when contacted by The Al-Hajj on this
matter, a legal luminary averred that there is no
way Nana Konadu can win an action in court against
the National Democratic Congress over the
ownership of the logo, adding that she cannot even
use the courts to restrain the party from using
the logo, going into 2012 elections..
According to the legal expert, who wants to remain
anonymous, “the claim of ownership or authorship
of the logo by the former first lady is legally
untenable because the NDC is a better claimant of
copyright protection than the former First Lady”.

The expert argued that even if Konadu has any
rights at all, “she has slept on her rights for so
long and has in fact acquiesced for so long in the
party’s claim of ownership of the logo by her own
positive actions making it doubtful if any court
would grant her any relief”.

Early May this year, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings
through her lawyers wrote to the National
Executives Committee of the party indicating her
disapproval over what she says is an infringement
of the party logo which she says is her
intellectual property.

According to her lawyer, Stanley Ahorlu, the logo
is the intellectual property of Nana Konadu
because she created it and that the necessary
steps would be employed to ensure that the spirit
behind the logo is not misused by any individual
or group of individuals.

According to Mr. Ahorlu, Mrs. Konadu Rawlings
“created the logo and subsequently registered it"
which gives her the exclusive use or allow someone
with her explicit permission to its use.

Her lawyer wrote that “she was not paid to create
it, neither did she create it in the course of her
duty as an employee that is if she was even
employed by the party”, Mr. Ahorlu said.

Source - Al-hajj

... go Back