Chichi Nworah floors Ini Edo in Shanty Town ownership case

The Nigerian Trademark Registry and the Nigerian Copyright Commission have declared filmmaker, Chichi Nworah, as the rightful owner of the popular movie series, Shanty Town.

Nworah’s legal team— Olisa Agbakoba Legal— stated that the NTR and NCC confirmed that Nworah and her production company, Giant Creative Media Limited, owned the trademarks and copyrights for the motion picture.

In a statement on its website, the top law firm said, “In a significant legal victory for filmmaker, Chinenye Nworah, and her production company GCM Giant Creative Media Limited, both the Nigerian Trademark Registry and the Nigerian Copyright Commission have ruled in their favour. This followed a series of legal battles initiated by Ini Edo(one of the lead characters in the movie) and Minnie Empire Productions Limited, who attempted to claim ownership of the trademarks and copyrights associated with Shanty Town.

“The two bodies also stated that the ‘Scar’ character (which is the main antagonist in the movie), belongs to Giant Creative Media. This was even as the NTR rejected a petition filed by Edo and MEP regarding the ‘Scar’ trademark on January 10, 2024, stating that the petition was without merit, and confirming Nworah’s exclusive ownership of the trademarks.”

The statement added that the NCC found no legal grounds for the cancellation, and upheld the validity of the certificates, confirming Nworah’s ownership of the copyrights.

Shortly after the movie was released, Edo had stated that she and Nworah were co-producers of the series. However, Edo was credited as an executive producer of the film, while Nworah was named as the executive producer, and producer.

This led to her eventually filing a suit challenging Nworah’s claim to sole ownership of the movie series.

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