Njemanze had sued the filmmaker Ejiro along with Filmone Entertainment and Film Trybe Media and Dioni Visions Entertainment for N50 million over 'Domitilla: The Reboot.'
The Trademark Tribunal sitting at the Trademark headquarters in Abuja on Thursday cancelled the registration and application of Domittila as a trademark by Anne Chioma Njemanze.
In the ruling delivered by the Chief Registrar, Shafiu Adamu Yauri on Thursday, the tribunal said all the documents issued to Njemanze were issued by the Commission in error.
The Federal Trademark Registry had fixed May 4 for a report of settlement in the dispute between actress Njemanze and veteran filmmaker, Zeb Ejiro over the rightful ownership of the ‘Domitilla’ brand.
SaharaReporters earlier reported that a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, South-West Nigeria had dismissed an ex parte application by the Nollywood actress, Njemanze, which sought an Anton Pillar order of the court in a suit against Ejiro and his firm.
An Anton Pillar order is an extraordinary form of injunctive relief which compels a defendant to permit a complainant to enter its property to search for and seize evidence and records, including electronic data and equipment. Its name is coined from the 1975 case of Anton Piller K.G.
Ejiro and Njemanze have been locked in a legal battle over the ownership of Domitilla, a 90s classic movie. The movie was produced in 1996 by Ejiro and starred Njemanze as the lead character.
Njemanze had sued the filmmaker Ejiro along with Filmone Entertainment and Film Trybe Media and Dioni Visions Entertainment for N50 million over 'Domitilla: The Reboot.'
The veteran filmmaker reacted by serving the actress with a countersuit for N500 million and described her lawsuit as a gold-digging exercise in a statement of defence filed by his team of lawyers led by Rockson Igelige.
Meanwhile, the Trademark Registry had adjourned the matter for ruling, if the parties in the dispute failed to reach an agreement of settlement.
Shefiu Adamu, the Registrar of the Department, made the pronouncement at the resumed hearing of a petition filed by Ejiro seeking revocation of a purported registration of “Domitilla and Device” by Njemanze.
Ejiro also asked the tribunal to expunge “Domitilla and Device” entry from the Register of Trademarks.
The movie portrays the life of a young woman struggling to make ends meet as a sex worker in Lagos.
Domitilla 2 was also produced and released in 1999 by Ejiro, while a remake was released in April 2023.
Njemanze reportedly trademarked the name “Domitilla and Device” on September 16, 2020 but Ejiro challenged the registration of the brand by Njemanze.
Igelige told the registry that the said trademark had been in use since 1996 by Ejiro in connection with movies.