This is an informal case summary prepared for the purposes of facilitating exchange during the 2025 WIPO IP Judges Forum.
Session 7: Calculation of Damages in Civil Proceedings
High Court of the United Republic of Tanzania [2022]: Tanzania-China Friendship Textile Co. Ltd v Nida Textile Mills (T) Ltd, Civil Case No. 106 of 2020
Date of judgment: 28th September 2022
Issuing authority: The High Court of Tanzania
Level of the issuing authority: First Instance
Type of procedure: Judicial (Civil)
Subject matter: Copyright and Related Rights
Plaintiff/Appellant: Tanzania-China Friendship Textile Co. Ltd
Defendant/Respondent: Nida Textile Mills (T) Ltd
Keywords:
Artistic works, copyright infringement, loss of market share, and damages.
Basic Facts:
The plaintiff, Tanzania-China Friendship Textile Company Limited, filed a suit against the defendant, Nida Textile Mills (NIDA), for infringement of the plaintiff's artistic work. It was contended that the defendant copied the plaintiff’s design pattern of its printed fabric. The plaintiff sought various legal remedies, including monetary compensation and injunctions against the defendant. Claims included TZS 3,369,728,553/- for losses and TZS 300,000,000/- for general damages. To support their specific claims, the plaintiff relied, inter alia, on its Annual Total Sales Report for the period from 2013 to 2019.
In defence, the defendant denied wrongdoing and claimed that some of their designs were original, having been created by local artists, while others were legally acquired along with the purchase of Sungura Textile Mills in 2003. The defendant maintained that the plaintiff's claims were baseless and sought dismissal of the case.
Holding:
1. The court determined that the disputed artistic works were the property of the plaintiff, having been created and registered by the plaintiff.
2. The court found that the defendant's use of the design patterns amounted to infringement of the plaintiff’s copyrights.
Relevant Holdings in relation to Calculation of Damages in Civil Proceedings:
1. The court reiterated the principle that specific damages must be specifically pleaded and strictly proven.
2. The plaintiff’s specific damages claim of TZS 3,369,728,553/- as loss suffered was denied due to a lack of evidence exclusively linking the plaintiff’s claimed loss to the defendant’s infringement.
3. The plaintiff’s reliance on its Annual Total Sales Report to prove the alleged suffered loss was rejected for, among other reasons, considering infringement as the only cause of the sales volume drop, in the exclusion of other internal and external dynamics, such as the plaintiff’s volume of production, the quality of the products, quantity of supply, and marketing, from which the lost sales volumes would be realised.
4. On general damages, the court established that a finding of the defendant’s liability entitles the plaintiff to compensation, and its granting by the court in such circumstances is unavoidable unless a reason is given.
5. The court awarded the plaintiff TZS 150,000,000 as general damages for the infringement and interest on the decretal sum to accrue from the date of filing to the date of judgment.
Relevant Legislation: