The Federal Register of Trademarks, on Thursday, annulled all documents granted to the actress Anne Njemanze, regarding the ownership of the trademark of a movie “Domitilla”.
The registration was ordered to be canceled by the Commercial Law Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in a ruling on a trademark ownership petition.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Njemanze has been in a long-running battle with veteran filmmaker Zeb Ejiro over the trademark name of a movie Ejiro shot and produced in 1996, “Domitilla”.
The film, which depicts the life of a young woman struggling to make ends meet as a prostitute in Lagos, starred Njemanze and other actors such as Sandra Achums, Ada Ameh and Kate Henshaw.
Its sequel, Domitilla 2, was also produced and released by Ejiro in 1999, and a remake is scheduled for release this year.
Years after the release of Domitilla 1 and 2, Njemanze announced that he had registered the name “Domitilla and Device” on 16 September 2020, and later applied to the trademark registry to register the name.
Delivering judgment on the case, Mr Shefiu Adamu, the Registrar of the Trademarks Department who led two other members, quashed all the documents issued to Njemanze.
In his words, “The Petitioner (Ejiro) has been using “Domitilla” for a long time, even more, the defendant acted in a movie called “Domitilla” for the petitioner.
“The respondent/applicant acted in a series of films for the applicant, Section 22 of the Trademark Act is quite explicit.
“Accordingly, the Trademark Registrar has the legal authority to correct errors related to the application of the trademark.
“The application of the respondent (Njemanze) is denied, the court annuls any document that could have been issued to the applicant, all of which were issued in error.
“The applicant acted in bad faith, and with this, the applicant’s claim is accepted.”
IN
