Ini Edo loses ‘Shanty town’ ownership legal battle to Chinenye Nworah

• 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.
• The filmmaker secured two rulings that affirmed her ownership of the intellectual property.
• The NCC found no legal grounds for the cancellation and upheld the validity of the certificates, confirming Nworah’s rightful ownership of the copyrights.

Popular Nigerian filmmaker cum movie actress, Ini Edo, has lost the ownership rights of the hit Netflix series ‘Shanty Town’ to filmmaker, Chinenye Nworah.

Ini Edo and Minini Empire Productions Limited, MEP, had in January 2024, filed a double intellectual property petition against Chinenye Nworah and her production company ‘Giant Creative Media Limited’, GCM over trademark rights of the popular Netflix series, Shanty Town.

In the petition, the movie actress sought to claim ownership of the trademarks and copyrights linked with ‘Shanty Town.

However, in a huge legal victory for Chinenye Nworah and GCM, her production company, the Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC and the Nigerian Trademark Registry ruled against Ini Edo, calling the petition frivolous and without substance.

In a separate ruling issued, the NCC denied petition by Ini Edo and MEP for the cancellation of two copyright certificates issued to Nworah for the literary work “Shanty Town” (Certificate Number LW10177) and the audiovisual work “Shanty Town” (Certificate Number CF1448).

Reacting to the victory, Nworah’s lawyer, Olisa Agbakoba explained that “the successful defence of these claims highlights the importance of protecting creative works and ensuring fair compensation for artists.”

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.