Actress Ini Edo has been defeated by filmmaker Chinenye Nworah, also known as Chi Chi Nworah, and her production company, Giant Creative Media Limited (GCM) in the legal battle over the ownership of the Netflix original series, Shanty Town.
Represented by Olisa Agbakoba’s firm, the filmmaker secured two rulings that affirmed her ownership of the intellectual property.
The first ruling, dated January 10, 2024, saw the Trademark Registry reject Ini and Minnie Empire Productions’ (MEP) petition concerning the Scar and Shanty Town trademarks.
The second, delivered on July 24, 2024, by the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC), dismissed MEP’s petition to cancel Nworah’s copyright certificates for the literary and audiovisual works related to Shanty Town.
The NCC found no legal grounds for the cancellation and upheld the validity of the certificates, confirming Nworah’s rightful ownership of the copyrights.
On January 15, 2024, Ini issued a warning to Netflix, demanding they halt negotiations with the filmmaker and GCM regarding the potential second season of the film.
Her lawsuit argued that Nworah did not hold exclusive rights to Shanty Town and insisted that any discussions about the future of the series should involve all parties in the original agreement.
Shanty Town, a six-part crime thriller that premiered on January 20, 2023, quickly became a sensation, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Chidi Mokeme, Ini Edo, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Nse Ikpe-Etim, Sola Sobowale, Nancy Isime, Shaffy Bello and Ali Nuhu.
