Coal Pot court ruling in the news
- zenocham
- Jul 24, 2025
- 2 min read
Trinidad Guardian - Soca artiste wins court battle against THA over use of ‘coal pot’
Soca artiste Sean Caruth has scored a major legal victory in his bid to hold the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) liable for the unauthorised use of his 2001 hit The Cook (Coal Pot) in a television commercial for its Blue Food Festival.
Delivering a judgment on Monday, appellate judges Gillian Lucky, Mira Dean-Armorer, and Vasheist Kokaram ruled that High Court Judge Frank Seepersad erred when he rejected Caruth’s copyright infringement case in July 2018.
Justice Dean-Armorer, who wrote the judgment, said, “We held that the trial judge was plainly wrong to have dismissed the appellant’s claim and the THA had infringed the neighbouring and moral rights of the appellant.”
Trinidad Express - THA must pay $.2m for use of ‘Coal Pot’
THE COURT of Appeal has ordered that the Tobago House of Assembly (THA) pay soca artiste Sean Caruth $200,000 after it used his song, without permission, to advertise its Tobago Blue Food Festival.
The judgment was delivered on Tuesday by Court of Appeal judges Mira Dean-Armorer, Gillian Lucky and Vasheist Kokaram.
Caruth’s 2001 song, ‘The Cook” (popularly known as ‘Coal Pot’), was used several times in 2012 by the THA in an advertisement to promote the tourism event. The television advertisement had the THA’s logo and used “Coal Pot” as its sound track for 39 seconds while displaying various types of foods, including pork. The radio ad also played an excerpt from “Coal Pot”.
TTT News - Court Of Appeal Affirms Sean Caruth’s Rights In Landmark ‘Coal Pot’ Copyright Case Against THA
The Court of Appeal of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago today delivered a seminal judgment in the case of Sean Caruth v. The Tobago House of Assembly (THA), clarifying and reinforcing the intellectual property rights of creators under the Copyright Act, Chapter 82:80. The ruling, handed down by Justices of Appeal Gillian Lucky, Mira Dean-Armorer, and Vasheist Kokaram, underscores the distinct protections afforded to neighbouring rights and moral rights, setting a crucial precedent for artists, public bodies, and media producers across the Caribbean.
The case stemmed from the unauthorised use of Sean Caruth’s iconic 2001 Soca hit, “The Cook” (popularly known as “Coal Pot”), in advertising campaigns for the Tobago Blue Food Festival in 2012. The Tobago House of Assembly utilised an excerpt of the song without permission, payment, or proper credit. Furthermore, the advertisement featured images of pork dishes, which Mr. Caruth found religiously offensive given his abstention from pork.
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