Domitilla: The court invalidates Ann Njemanze’s trademark

On Thursday, the Federal Trademark Registry cancelled every document that actress Anne Njemanze had to pertain to the “Domitilla” brand owner.

In a ruling given in a petition regarding the ownership of the trademark, the registrar, a Commercial Law Department of the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment, issued the revocation order.

According to The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Njemanze and seasoned director Zeb Ejiro engaged in a protracted legal dispute about who should have legal rights to the moniker “Domitilla,” which was used for a 1996 film that Ejiro directed and produced.

Njemanze played a major role in the film, which follows the struggles of a young lady working as a prostitute in Lagos. Other actresses were Sandra Achums, the late Ada Ameh, and Kate Henshaw.

This was followed by Domitilla 2, which Ejiro also created and released in 1999; a remake is set for release this year.

After Domitilla 1 and 2 were published, Njemanze allegedly trademarked “Domitilla and Device” on September 16, 2020, and afterwards applied to have the name registered with the trademark office.

Shefiu Adamu, the trademark department’s registrar who presided over two other members as he rendered his decision in the case, cancelled all the paperwork that had been given to Njemanze.

According to him, “The petitioner (Ejiro) has been using “Domitilla” for a very long time; even the respondent played a part for the petitioner in the movie with the same name.

“Section 22 of the Trademark Act is extremely unambiguous; the respondent/applicant has appeared in a number of motion pictures for the petitioner.

“As a result, the Trademark Registrar has the legal authority to fix any problems with the trademark application.

“The tribunal cancels any document that may have been issued to the applicant since it was all published in mistake; the respondent’s application (Njemanze) is therefore denied.

The petitioner’s claim is upheld since the applicant behaved unfavourably.
The attorney representing Ejiro, Rockson Igelige, responded to the verdict by praising the registry and stating that the conclusion was well-founded.

He said that the ruling was in line with the fundamentals of intellectual property rights.

Additionally, in response to the verdict, Marvin Ibem, the applicant/respondent’s attorney, notified the Registry that he would get a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the verdict, review it, and then proceed with the matter.