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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”.