May 4 has been fixed as the date for a report of settlement in a dispute between veteran film maker, Zeb Ejiro, and actress Anne Njemanze, over the rightful ownership of the brand, ”Domitilla”, by the Federal Trademark Registry.
Ejiro had filed a petition, seeking revocation of a purported registration of “Domitilla and Device” by Njemanze, and for it to be expunged from the Register of Trade Marks.
Njemanze starred as the lead character in “Domitilla”, a movie produced in 1996 by Zeb Ejiro. A sequel, Domitilla 2, was also produced and released in 1999 by Ejiro, while a remake was released in 2023.
Years after the release of Domitilla 1 and 2, Njemanze reportedly trademarked the name “Domitilla and Device” on September 16, 2020.
Ejiro’s lawyers argued that the trademark had been in use since 1996 by their client in connection with films and matters which fell under class 41 of the Register of Trademarks in Nigeria.
Njemanze was also accused of attempting to cause confusion as she knew about the petitioner’s continuous use of the name since 1996. It partly read;
“The Petitioner owns the statutorily protected copyright of the film scripts of “Domitilla” and “Domitilla 2”, which were handed to the applicant in the course of her engagement as an actress in 1996 and 1999 respectively.
“Since the respective release of the films in 1996 and 1999, the films have continuously been in the market, first in video Cassettes; later in Compact Discs and now majorly as internet downloads all under the proprietary name of the Petitioner.
“The applicant has no goodwill and reputation in the word, “Domitilla”, separate from her role in the films “Domitilla” and “Domitilla 2”, which are intellectual properties of the Petitioner.
“The Petitioner has continuously used “Domitilla” as a created film character and as the title of his films, “Domitilla” and “Domitilla 2” since 1996 till date, thereby building strong goodwill and widespread reputation in the word.
“Domitilla” in respect of the class of goods and services the applicant alleged to have applied for registration and or purport to have registered “Domitilla & Device” as a trade mark.
“The applicant’s alleged application for registration and or the purported registration of “Domitilla & Device” offends section 11 of the Trade Marks Act.”
Njemanze’s lawyers however stated that they filed a 98-paragraph reply against the petition to justify the registration. They insisted that the petition lacked merit and should be dismissed.
Asides from fixing a date for the report of settlement, the Commercial Law Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, also adjourned for ruling, if the parties in the dispute failed to reach an agreement of settlement.
