Copyright infringement claims – Actress Stephanie Okereke sued for N100m over movie “DRY” storyline

Nollywood A-Lister and UN Ambassador, Stephania Okereke-Linus, is in the centre of an alleged copyright infringement lawsuit  claims brought by writer Daniella Madudu. Madudu filed the lawsuit (FHC/L/CS/878/17) through her lawyer, Mr Rafiu Bello before the Federal High Court in Lagos.

Madudu alleges that the actress’ 2015 award winning movie, Dry bears more than a fleeting resemblance to the storyline of her novel Behind the veil, which tells the story of the dangers of child marriage and attendant health implications such as the Vesico-V----a Fistula disease in northern Nigeria.

Joined in the lawsuit is the defendant’s former personal assistant, Joy Ndidi, who the plaintiff accused of having made the manuscript available to Okereke-Linus.

Watch the trailer for Dry

Earlier on Thursday following the first public intimation of the alleged copyright infringement, Stephanie Okereke- Linus had issued a statement denying appropriating the said literary work. According to the UN Ambassador, while the movie (Dry) was shot in August and November 2012, the script had been registered since November 28, 2011, with the United States Copyright Office and later with the Nigerian Copyright Commission on July 27, 2012. She further added,

“That Ms. Joy Ndidi’s first ever contact with me was in 2013 (DRY was already a finished project at this time)”, and that also, there is no record (as at the time of the statement) to show that Madudu had registered her work with the Nigerian Copyright Commission. Speaking further, the statement added that the facts are easily verifiable and that “Any half-hearted attempt at investigative and responsible journalism would have turned up”.

This is not the first copyright infringement lawsuit to be brought recently against a Nollywood producer. Just last March, Omoni Oboli’s Okafor’s Law suffered some cinema screening hiccups over copyright infringement claims, which resulted in a court injunction to stop its premiere and cinema screening. The injunction, however, was later lifted allowing for a nationwide release of the movie.