August 10, (THEWILL) – Nollywood actress, Ini Edo, has lost the ownership rights of the hit Netflix series, ‘Shanty Town’ to filmmaker, Chinenye Nworah.
Ini Edo and Minini Empire Productions Limited (MEP) had in January 2024, filed a double intellectual property petition against Chinenye Nworah and her production company, Giant Creative Media Limited (GCM), over trademark rights of the popular Netflix series, ‘Shanty Town’.
In the petition, the actress sought to claim ownership of the trademarks and copyrights linked with ‘Shanty Town’.
However, in a huge legal victory for Nworah and GCM, her production company, the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) and the Nigerian Trademark Registry ruled against Ini Edo, calling the petition frivolous and without substance.
In a separate ruling issued, the NCC denied a petition by Ini Edo and MEP for the cancellation of two copyright certificates issued to Nworah for the literary work, ‘Shanty Town’ (Certificate Number LW10177) and the audiovisual work ‘Shanty Town’ (Certificate Number CF1448).
Trouble started when the Netflix team in Africa started discussions in 2023 with Nworah and Giant Creative Media for a second season of ‘Shanty Town’ because of the success of the first film.
But on January 15, 2024, Ini sent a legal warning to Netflix asking them to stop talking to Nworah and Giant Creative Media about making another season.
Ini’s lawsuit provides specific details, arguing against Nworah’s exclusive rights to the movie.
Ini’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 Ini, 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 fired back at the claim made by Ini’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 Ini’s claim of being the owner of the intellectual property in the Netflix original movie, further stating that Nworah is the sole initiator and sole copyright holder of ‘Shanty Town’.
“We have instructed our lawyers, Olisa Agbakoba Legal, to take all necessary legal measures to further protect and secure enforcement of the intellectual property of our creative director. We, therefore, urge the general public to disregard any misinformation or false claims from all quarters circulating on social media regarding the ownership of ‘SHANTY TOWN’.
“This is a warning that any unauthorised use, reproduction, or distribution of the movie or its associated intellectual property will be met with immediate legal action and sanctions in order to protect our creative director’s interests and uphold the integrity of the intellectual property we so hold in ‘Shanty Town’,” Giant Creative Media
