Nollywood actress Ini Edo has lost the legal battle over the ownership rights of the hit 2023 Netflix series Shanty Town to Nigerian filmmaker Chinenye Nworah. In January 2024, Ini Edo and her production company, Minini Empire Productions Limited (MEP), filed a petition against Nworah and her company, Giant Creative Media Limited (GCM), seeking to claim the trademarks and copyrights associated with the series.
However, in a recent ruling, both the Nigerian Trademark Registry (NTR) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) dismissed the petitions filed by Ini Edo. The NTR declared the petition regarding the trademarks “baseless and without merit,” affirming Nworah’s exclusive ownership of the Shanty Town trademarks. Similarly, the NCC upheld the validity of Nworah’s copyright certificates for the series, confirming her rightful ownership of the intellectual property.
Chinenye Nworah’s legal team, represented by Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL), emphasized the ruling as a significant victory in protecting the rights of creative individuals and companies in intellectual property disputes.
News Editor