In response to a video streaming channel's unauthorized usage of Nollywood actor and filmmaker Femi Adebayo's film "Jelili," a Lagos High Court has granted Adebayo N25 million.
On Tuesday, the actor made this announcement on his official Instagram account. He also mentioned that the issue was related to the piracy of his film, "Survival of Jelili."
The film, which debuted in December 2019, tells the tale of a young guy named Jelili who tries to switch from boxing to modeling in order to elevate his social standing. The three main actors are Dele Odule, Toyin Abraham, and Desmond Eliot.
In March of 2021, the actor filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Ibadan on the purported copyright claims made by Murphy Ben International via their "Aforefo TV" YouTube channel regarding his two films, "Survival of Jelili" and "Kodi Ologbon Aye."
The actor claimed that the YouTube channel had stolen his intellectual property in order to profit financially.
"They chose to use my movie poster and title to promote a movie on their platform, misleading fans and taking money that should have gone to me," he added.
A threat to Nigeria's creative sector, particularly Nollywood, is piracy. Nollywood has endured hardships at the hands of these illicit distributors for the past 20 years.
"Over the years, the Nigerian film business has grown exponentially, but we haven't been able to maximize the real benefits of this company because of daring pirates who profit from their absence. This is a big part of the reason why investors are hesitant to give filmmakers their money," the author stated.
Producers and paid creatives hired for these projects are threatened by this move, and as a result, they are forced to claim more losses than gains because they rarely make back their investment in order to discuss higher earnings.
In addition, he stated, "With the commitment of our legal team, Bola Adebowale & Co. Legal Practitioners, who are seasoned professionals with a wealth of experience handling such cases, my trust in the legal and justice system remained unwavering even though it took three years." They made a compelling case, provided indisputable proof, and tried the case. Their promptness, effectiveness, and meticulousness were quite helpful portion of the case's trajectory. We took home N25 million in total as our prize.
Additionally, Mr. Adebayo said that this victory is universal since it establishes a precedent for potential events in the near future.
He declared: "This is a victory for all of Nollywood, not just for me as a director and content provider. At all levels, we need to be prepared to combat IP theft and piracy. With each victory, we go one step closer to safeguarding and obtaining the full economic worth of our labor.
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