Shanty Town: NCC rules in Chichi Nworah’s favour, dismisses Ini Edo’s petition

The Nigerian Trademark Registry (NTR) and the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), responsible for trademarks and copyright regulation, respectively, have dismissed actress Ini Edo’s petition over the ownership of the hit Netflix series, ‘Shanty Town’ and ruled in filmmaker Chichi Nworah’s favour.

Edo and Ms Nworah, an acclaimed filmmaker, real name Chinenye Nworah, have been locked in a legal battle over the ownership rights of the hit Netflix series “Shanty Town’ released in January 2023.

PREMIUM TIMES reported the legal dispute between both parties amidst the film’s highly anticipated release of the second season.

Released on 20 January 2023, the six-part crime thriller with its star-studded cast featuring Chidi Mokeme, Ini Edo, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Sola Sobowale, Nancy Isime, Shaffy Bello, and Ali Nuhu, among others, was a hit.

Edo was credited as executive producer on the film’s IMDb page, while Ms Nworah held the roles of both executive producer and producer.

Ms Nworah’s legal team, Olisa Agbakoba Legal (OAL), in a statement on Thursday, announced that the NTR and NCC confirmed their client (Nworah) and her production company, Giant Creative Media Limited (GCM), owned the trademarks and copyrights of Shanty Town.

The statement partly read: “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 follows a series of legal battles initiated by Ms Iniobong Edo Ekim (Ini Edo) and Minnie Empire Productions Limited (MEP), who attempted to claim ownership of the trademarks and copyrights associated with ‘Shanty Town’.

“Trademark Dispute: ‘Shanty Town’ and ‘Scar’ belong to Giant Creative Media. The Trademark Registry rejected a petition filed by Ini Edo and MEP regarding trademarks ‘Scar’ NG/TM/O/2023/121745 and ‘Shanty Town’ NG/TM/O/2023/97482 on 10 January 2024, declaring the petition baseless and without merit and confirming Mrs Nworah’s exclusive ownership of these trademarks.”

Ini Edo’s petition dismissed

Furthermore, Ms Nworah’s legal team stated that the NCC rejected Edo and MEP’s petition to revoke the copyright certificates for her client’s literary and audiovisual works related to ‘Shanty Town’.

“In a separate ruling delivered on July 24, 2024, the NCC dismissed a petition by Ini Edo and MEP concerning 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). The statement added that 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.”

The legal team stated that the case underscores OAL’s dedication to safeguarding the rights of creative individuals and businesses in the face of intellectual property disputes.

OAL emphasised that the NTR and NCC ruling underlines the importance of protecting creative works and ensuring equitable compensation for artists.

Background

This newspaper reported that the legal battle commenced after Ms Nworah confirmed the plans for a sequel, ‘Shanty Town 2’, was in progress, including scripting and development.

Edo’s first legal salvo was a 15 January warning to Netflix, demanding they halt negotiations with Ms Nworah and Giant Creative Media about a potential second season.

Her lawsuit claims Ms Nworah lacks exclusive rights to ‘Shanty Town’ and that all original agreement parties should be involved in further discussions.

Edo’s legal argument hinges on a 13 December 2019 collaborative agreement among herself, Chinenye, and Joy Odiete to produce five films over a decade.

Furthermore, the document specifies that in June 2021, Minini Empire Productions, Giant Creative Media, Nevada Bridge TV, and Champion One Entertainment shared intellectual property (IP) rights, with Minini Empire Productions and GCM each entitled to 5% of total profits.

As of press time, Edo has yet to comment on the ruling publicly. There are no posts about the case on her social media accounts.