Zeb Ejiro reacts after ‘Domitilla’ trademark win against Anne Njemanze

Nollywood movie producer Zeb Ejiro has reacted after he recently defeated actress Anne Njemanze in court over a case of copyright infringement regarding the movie ‘Domitilla’.

The moviemaker who reacted during an interview with Punch expressed joy at defeating actress, Anne Njemanze, in court over the copyright infringement case.

READ ALSO: Tribunal cancels ‘Domitilla’ trademark registration by Anne Njemanze in ownership tussle with Zeb Ejiro

Zeb Ejiro who spoke on the genesis of the case said that Anne Njemanze asked to be paid the lump sum of N17 million to feature in the movie sequel.

He said; “When I shot ‘Domitilla’ in 1996, I invited Anne to act in it. She was not a star then. Some years later, I made ‘Domitilla 2’. She did not play the role of Domitilla in that sequel, but the character’s mother. When I went into partnership with FilmOne Entertainment, I called her in 2019 to say that we were shooting the movie.

READ ALSO: Zeb Ejiro, Anne Njemanze to settle out of court over ‘Domitilla’ trademark rights

“When I called her again last year (2022) that we were ready to shoot, she asked me to pay her N17m. I did not know that she had gone behind me to trademark the name as her property.

“I petitioned the trademark office, informing them that Anne did not have any work with the name ‘Domitilla’. We were then invited to defend our submission.

READ ALSO: Court throws out N50m suit by actress Anne Njemanze against Zeb Ejiro over alleged copyright infringement

“They (Anne and her lawyers) tried to get an order to restrain the movie from being released but they failed. We eventually won the case.”

Ejiro also stated that he actually reached out to Njemanze over the issue to no avail. He said, “We had finished shooting and editing the remake of the movie when we suddenly saw a court order that our office should be searched and properties seized because we were infringing on Njemanze’s right. I called her several times to ask her what was wrong, but she did not answer my calls.

READ ALSO: COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT: Actress Anne Njemanze slams N50m suit on Zeb Ejiro, others

”As an elder in the industry, I started calling people to talk to her. I wondered why she wanted to kill my business. Is that how she was supposed to pay me, whom God used to launch her into the industry?”