February 28, (THEWILL) – Nollywood actress, Ini Edo and filmmaker, Chinenye Nworah, who worked together on the Netflix series, ‘Shanty Town, are now fighting over ownership of the movie.
The Netflix team in Africa started discussions with Nworah and Giant Creative Media in 2023 for a second season of ‘Shanty Town’ because of the success of the first film.
But on January 15, 2024, Edo sent a legal warning to Netflix, asking them to stop talking to Nworah and Giant Creative Media about making another season.
Ini Edo’s lawsuit provides specific details, arguing against Chinenye Nworah’s exclusive rights to the movie.
Edo’s main points include:
Nworah should not be the only one in talks about continuing the series because she does not own it by herself.
The working relationship between Edo, Nworah, and another partner, Joy Odiete, began with an agreement on December 13, 2019. This agreement was to produce five movies over ten years.
In June 2021, a new deal was made involving Minini Empire Productions, Giant Creative Media, Nevada Bridge TV, and Champion One Entertainment. They all signed a ‘Shanty Town Investment Agreement.’
According to this investment agreement, the intellectual property rights are owned by both Minini Empire Productions and GCM. Additionally, they are entitled to five percent of the total profits from the project.
Nworah has fired back at the claim made by Edo’s lawyers with a press release stating that she is the sole initiator and sole copyright holder of ‘Shanty Town’ and that the media should cease spreading false claims.
This is according to the release issued on February 22, 2024, by Giant Creative Media, imploring the audience to ignore Edo’s claim of being the owner of the intellectual property in the Netflix original movie. It further stated that Nworah is the sole initiator and sole copyright holder of ‘Shanty Town.’
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