In response to a video streaming channel's unauthorized usage of Nollywood actor and filmmaker Femi Adebayo's film "Jelili," a Lagos High Court has granted Adebayo N25 million.
On Tuesday, the actor made this announcement on his official Instagram account. He also mentioned that the issue was related to the piracy of his film, "Survival of Jelili." The film, which debuted in December 2019, tells the tale of a young guy named Jelili who tries to switch from boxing to modeling to elevate his social standing.
The three main actors are Dele Odule, Toyin Abraham, and Desmond Eliot. The actor filed a lawsuit in March 2021 at the Federal High Court located in Ibadan, alleging that Murphy Ben International had violated his copyright to two of his films, "Survival of Jelili" and "Kodi Ologbon Aye," through their YouTube channel, "Aforefo TV." This marked the beginning of the piracy dispute. The actor claimed that the YouTube channel had stolen his intellectual property to profit financially. "They chose to use my movie poster and title to promote a movie on their platform, misleading fans and taking money that should have gone to me," he added.
A threat to Nigeria's creative sector, particularly Nollywood, is piracy. Nollywood has endured hardships at the hands of these illicit distributors for the past 20 years.
"Over the years, the Nigerian film industry has grown exponentially, but because of daring pirates who profit where they don't show, we haven't been able to maximize the true dividends of this business." This is a big part of the reason why investors are hesitant to give filmmakers their money," the author stated. Producers and paid creatives hired for these projects are threatened by this move, and as a result, they are forced to claim more losses than gains because they seldom make back their investments to discuss higher earnings. Moreover, he stated.
"Even though it took three years, our legal team, Bola Adebowale & Co. Legal Practitioners, who are seasoned professionals with a wealth of experience handling such cases, never wavered in their dedication to helping me maintain my unwavering trust in the legal and justice system." They made a compelling argument, provided indisputable proof, and tried the case. The case's outcome was significantly influenced by their promptness, effectiveness, and attention to detail.
We took home N25 million in total as our prize. Additionally, Mr. Adebayo said that this victory is universal since it establishes a precedent for potential events shortly. He declared: "This is a victory for all of Nollywood, not just for me as a director and content provider. At all levels, we need to be prepared to combat IP theft and piracy. With each victory, we go one step closer to safeguarding and obtaining the full economic worth of our labor.
