The case in the matter of Omoni Oboli and Raconteur Productions regarding the copyright violation and theft of the “Okafor’s Law” continued today at the Federal High Court sitting at the Lagos Judiciary division before Hon Ibrahim Buba. J today, May 17th, 2017.
According to the statement from Raconteur Productions to AML, “the key witness was Mrs. Obasi, a senior censors officer from the National Video and Film censors board (NFVCB) who stated that a film with the same title cannot be licensed twice. She only confirmed the registration of the Film “Okafor’s Law” done by Filmone Distribution on the 21st of March 2017.”
Oboli’s attorney presented the receipt of payment for the same film dated 11/09/2014, however the censors officer from the NFVCB reiterated that before a film can be certified, a search is carried out on the title list in their record to ascertain whether such name had been used previous and as at the time Film One wanted to register “Okafor’s Law” there was no record of Okafor’s Law being done previously.
The NFVCB is not empowered to register the title of Films but to censor a completed works (Film/ Video) in order for them to be placed the appropriate category.”
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What does it all mean? It means Omoni Oboli has a problem in proving she did not infringe on Jude Idada’s intellectual property right in the movie, and this may be a good time to discuss settlement.
For a more in-depth discussion on the facts, the law, and potential outcome of the case listen to AML podcast episode 93 below.
