Nollywood actor Ini Edo loses legal battle over ownership of ‘Shanty Town’

Ini Edo, a Nollywood actress, has lost the rights to the 2023 smash Netflix series ‘Shanty Town’ to Nigerian filmmaker Chinenye Nworah.
In January 2024, Ini and her production business, Minini Empire Productions Limited, MEP, filed a twofold intellectual property petition against Chinenye Nworah and her production firm, ‘Giant Creative Media Limited’, GCM, over trademark rights to the series ‘Shanty Town’.
In the petition, the actress claimed ownership of the trademarks and copyrights associated with ‘Shanty Town’.

However, Chinenye’s lawyer, Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL), in a statement on Friday, revealed that the Nigerian Trademark Registry (NTR) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), responsible for trademarks and copyright regulation, respectively

have dismissed actress Ini Edo’s plea for ownership of the hit Netflix series ‘Shanty Town’ and ruled in favour of Chinenye.
On January 10, 2024, the Trademark Registry rejected a petition made by Ini Edo and MEP about the trademarks ‘SCAR’ NG/TM/O/2023/121745 and ‘SHANTY TOWN’ NG/TM/O/2023/97482, pronouncing the petition frivolous and without merit and affirming Nworah’s sole ownership of these trademarks.

In a separate ruling issued on July 24, 2024, the NCC denied a petition by Ini Edo and MEP for 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).

According to Olisa Agbakoba’s attorneys, “The NCC found no legal grounds for the cancellation and upheld the validity of the certificates, confirming Mrs Nworah’s rightful ownership of these copyrights.”This case highlights OAL’s dedication to defending the rights of creative individuals and businesses in the face of intellectual property challenges.