Copyright infringement allegations stalls release of ‘Domitilla’ remake

Nollywood actress Ann Njemanze has sued popular filmmaker Zeb Ejiro and two others for copyright infringement.

Ms Njemanze, famous for playing the titular character in the classic 1996 film, ‘Domitilla‘ has taken the well-known filmmaker to court for infringement of the trademarked name ‘Domitilla’.

According to court documents obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, the actress demanded N50 million from Mr. Ejiro for infringement of the registered trademark.

Also involved in the case against Mr. Ejiro are Filmone Entertainment and Film Trybe Media.

In 2020, 24 years after its original release, Zeb Ejiro Productions announced a partnership with FilmOne Entertainment and Omoni Oboli’s Dioni Vision that will see a remake of a Nollywood classic.

Three Nigerian film production companies are teaming up to produce the sequel in Lagos.

Production on the film will begin later that year, while a theatrical release is scheduled for the first quarter of 2021.

In the same year, Ms Njemanze trademarked the name, ‘Domitilla’ which gave her fame in the Nigerian film industry.

Litigation

With the court documents, Ms Njemanze also asked for N5m in litigation costs and attorney fees.

He also sought a court order to prevent the defendants or others from using his trademark (Domitila) or any other brand that is similar to the registered trademark.

Efforts to reach Ms. Njemanze proved unsuccessful. Her legal representative, Bartholomew Aguebodo, refused to comment on the matter, although he confirmed to this newspaper that the case is in court.

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However, Mr. Ejiro, in the defense statement submitted by the lawyer led by Rockson Igelige, described the current action by Ms. Njemanze as an exercise of gold-digging instituted with the intention of making undue financial benefits from the Defendant.

In an interview with this newspaper on Friday, Mr. Ejiro, who is responsible for Nollywood hits like ‘Nneka the Pretty Serpent’ (1994), ‘Mortal Warisan’ (1996) and ‘Sakobi the Snake Girl’, among others, said sure he arrived. for Ms Njemanze to perform a revival of the film, ‘Domitilla’.

According to her, she asked for more money than was budgeted for her role.

“I gave him N2m, not knowing he had gone behind my back to trademark my intellectual property. I have been using the name for a long time. I took ‘Domitilla’ to film festivals around the world.

“We had to leave the script and start a new script. The next time he came with the police calling the thief in public. He even went with the police to FilmOne, our partner, to search his office. I tried to reach him, but he refused to pick up my phone. I have to ask the heads of the different guilds to intervene,” he said.

The background

Speaking to this newspaper, Mr. Ejiro said he first met Njemanze in 1995 when he came to audition for a movie, ‘African Queen’ produced with veteran singer Mike Okri.

According to him, he lost to Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, who was number 1, while Ann was number 2.

“She was little, and she cried. She said that she deserves to be first because she can act. I saw that she can do it. So I said that I will shoot a movie next year and if she can lose weight because she is fat, I will make him the main character.

“In February 1996, he contacted me, and I saw that he had lost weight. I gave him the main character in ‘Domitilla’, he played well. He also repeated the character in 1999 to take part in London.

“Now is the time to revive it, but because she is older now, we decided to give the role of an aunt to one of the characters, but she asked for N17m for just five scenes,” he said.

Defense, countersuit

In a case filed at the Federal High Court of Nigeria with suit number FHC/L/CS/2305/2022 filed by her lawyers led by Mr Aguegbodo, Ms Njemanze accused Mr Ejiro and other defendants of violating her exclusive rights. trademark, ‘Domitilla & Device’, which was registered on September 16, 2020.

However, in their statement of defence, the defendants denied the allegations while contesting the competence of the suit.

“The Principal 1st Defendant (Zeb Ejiro Productions Limited) has been using the word continuously since 1996 in the marketing of the film prior to the date of the Plaintiff’s alleged application for registration and/or registration of ‘Domitilla & Device’ as a trademark,” he said. reading defense.

Meanwhile, Mr. Ejiro’s legal representative, Mr. Igelige, told this newspaper that the filmmaker has ordered the actress to be taken to court for breach of trust.

Mr. Igelige said, “We will ask for N500m for the use of confidential information that we had access to during our role as an actress in the production of ‘Domitilla’ 1 and 2”.

Domitilla

The crime drama film tells the story of young Domitilla Junior, who becomes a romantic adventurer for survival. He and his gang prostitution friends are unfortunately caught in the mysterious death of a politician and must do everything possible to prove their innocence.

Domitilla featured A-list actors such as Anne Njemanze, Sandra Achums, Kate Henshaw, Adah Ameh and the late Enebeli Elebuwa, to name a few.

Although the main character, Ms Njemanze, had previously starred in an equally successful film, ‘True Confession’, her role in ‘Domitilla’ saw her take star status.

The movie also made people like the late Ada Ameh and instant celebrity Alex Lopez.

Domitilla remake

Like its predecessor, the remake of ‘Domitilla’ also captures the thriving prostitution ring in Nigeria and the determination of a group of women to assert their dominance using their thighs.

The movie stars some of the best actors in Nollywood, including veterans and new generation actors.

Chiwetalu Agwu, Elvina Ibru, Onyinye Odokoro, Stan Nze, Teniola Aladese, Uzoamaka Doris Aniunoh, Ejiro Onojaife, Seun Ajayi, Okey Jude, Chioma Okafor, Chinyere Wilfred, and Sonny Mcdon.

Nollywood and the theft of Intellectual Property

Since its inception, Nollywood has been bogged down not only by piracy but also by intellectual property theft.

In 2016, ANA Prize winning playwright Jude Idada accused Nollywood actress and filmmaker Omoni Oboli of stealing the script to use in his movie, ‘Okafor’s Law’.

The allegations led to a court order preventing Okafor’s Law from airing.

Ms Oboli was then given the right to tell the story.

Also in 2016, Former Inspiration FM Presenter Wana Udobang accused Nollywood director Niyi Akinmolayan of intellectual theft.

Ms Udobang claimed that Mr Akinmolayan stole her concept, ‘Room 313’, and made a short film titled ‘Room 315’.

They claim that ‘Room 315’ has the same plot and name as the series of experiments about people who are traumatized during therapy, which has been available for viewing since 2015.

The Nigerian Intellectual Property Act states that copyright can be protected by registration with the Nigerian Copyright Commission. It protects the exclusive right granted to the creator of a creative work to reproduce the project for a certain period of time.