Ini Edo Loses Court Case Concerning "Shanty Town" Ownership

Ini Edo Loses Court Case Concerning "Shanty Town" Ownership

The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Trademark Registry (NTR), which oversee copyright laws and trademarks, have rejected actress Ini Edo's appeal about the ownership of the popular Netflix series "Shanty Town" and found in favor of Chichi Nworah, respectively.

Recall that the popular Netflix series "Shanty Town," which debuted in January 2023, has resulted in a legal dispute between actress Ini Edo and filmmaker Ms. Chinenye Nworah.

SUMMARY According to Sunday, the dispute over the ownership of the popular series began when actress Ini Edo and her production firm, Minini Empire Productions Limited (MEP), claimed ownership of the copyrights and trademarks for "Shanty Town" and "Scar." connected to the television show.

The Trademark Registry has denied the petition submitted by Ini Edo and MEP about the trademarks "SHANTY TOWN" and "SCAR" (NG/TM/O/2023/121745).

NG/TM/O/2023/97482 on January 10, 2024, ruling the petition illegitimate and giving Ms. Nworah exclusive ownership of the trademarks.

The petition filed by Ini Edo and MEP regarding the cancellation of two copyright certificates issued to Chinenye Nworah for the literary work "Shanty Town" (Certificate Number LW10177) and the audiovisual work "Shanty Town" (Certificate Number CF1448) was dismissed by both NCC and NTR in their separate rulings delivered on July 24, 2024.

The decision states that Mrs. Nworah's legitimate possession of the certificates was confirmed, and the NCC found no justification for their deletion of their rights to reproduction.

The Olisa Agbakoba Legal team stated, "This case demonstrates OAL's commitment to protecting the rights of creative individuals and companies in the face of intellectual property disputes."