Our Media & Entertainment group provides legal advisory services to clients in the Music, Fashion, Advertising, Film and Television Industry. We work with clients to attain adequate and effective protection for their brands, intangible assets, concepts, business operating plans and information technology. We ensure that our clients’ products and services are compliant with local law and regulatory standards.
We appreciate that Nigerian Entertainment law is only just developing and as such we work closely with our Intellectual Property (IP) team to provide copyright, trademarks, patents and designs advice and services. We educate clients on their IP rights and obtain protection for their brand names, creative works and inventions. We also counsel on brand name usage, product development, licensing, protection and exploitation of trademarks (including famous marks), ensuring comprehensive protection for each client’s IP portfolio.
Our expertise also includes product registration and regulatory compliance, and we assist clients by developing, advising on and vetting advertisements for product/brand development in Nigeria. We provide a one-stop shop for clients in relation to Media & Entertainment law issues, which includes but is not limited to preparing contracts regulating the relationship between players in the entertainment industry and ensuring compliance with Nigerian Labour laws.
Our services also include assisting clients in their anti-counterfeiting operations. We conduct investigations, and notify and work with Nigerian enforcement bodies to prosecute offenders and remove offending products from the market. Where litigation becomes necessary, we are aggressive, thorough and well prepared. With our orientation in commercial law and practice, we seek the best business outcome for our clients in all matters.
Media & Entertainment Litigation Practice
B&I’s Media and Entertainment Group is supported by a very strong Litigation Practice comprising a specialist team made up of exceptional IP and Commercial Litigation lawyers, each with a profound understanding of the legal issues affecting Media Law and extensively experienced in devising winning strategies to ensure adequate protection of our Nigerian and foreign clients’ media and entertainment intellectual property rights and interests. The Media and Entertainment Litigation team sits within our Dispute Resolution Group under the able supervision of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
The Firm’s Media and Entertainment litigation practice brings together experienced Media & Entertainment, IP and Commercial Litigation Lawyers in the defence or prosecution of litigation arising out of patent, trademark, copyright, licensing, internet-based and other technology disputes, and includes litigation involving trade secret claims, false advertising and intellectual property transfers. The team represents clients in litigation with the primary objective of ensuring that cases are effectively resolved in favour of clients with minimum expenditure of time and resources. The team also adopts dispute avoidance, management and resolution techniques to ensure that the clients’ commercial needs are achieved in circumstances where litigation or arbitration may have adverse effects.
Case Notes
Legal Advisers in connection with British American Tobacco Nigeria‘s external restructuring with British American Tobbaco Iseyin Agronomy Limited.
We are acting for Roraj Trade Limited Liability Company in its trade mark oppositions matters involving the FENTY trademark at the Nigerian Trade Marks Registry.
We are currently acting for iROKO Partners in a preemptive suit, instituted by a movie and distribution company, alleging the infringement of copyright in some Nollywood movies streamed by iROKO Partners on the Youtube platform.
We are also acting for iROKO Partners in a number of Opposition matters filed at the Trade Marks Registry by Iroko Partners Limited in relation to some of iROKO Partners’ trademarks.
Iroking Limited
We are currently advising iroking – an online digital music streaming platform on an alleged infringement of an artiste’s copyright on its music distribution platform.
We advised EbonyLife TV in its production of Nigeria’s first-ever legal drama television series (Castle & Castle), where we reviewed the script to ensure that the language and play-acting complies with the nuances of the Nigerian legal system.
We advised a world-famous media personality and brand owner, Jennifer Lopez through her company, J-Lo Holdings Company LLC with investigations regarding the source and destination of certain counterfeit beauty products.
We provided legal advisory services in the course of the pre- and post-production stages of the movie “Half of a yellow sun” (the “Movie”). Our services included handling all the legal aspects of the film adaptation including negotiating the relevant contracts with the artistes etc. We also acted as Transaction Counsel in connection with the establishment of the Shareman HOAYS Fund, launched in connection with the financing and production of the Movie.
We advised WTS Broadcasting Ltd, on the engagement of two (2) internationally well-known Nigerian musicians, King Sunny Ade and Ebenezer Obey for performance at a major concert in Nigeria tagged: OLEKU. Our responsibilities included attending meetings and assisting with the drafting and negotiations of Artiste Engagement Agreements between WTS Broadcast Limited and the artistes, and advising on the IP rights of all parties, including issues relating to copyright, licensing of recordings and related matters.
We successfully prosecuted a suit, on behalf of NB, against a collecting society, which opposed NB’s right to record, produce and/or broadcast music performed by certain artists that participated at its annual “Star Mega Jam show.”
We advised NB in relation to the protection and maintenance of its brand names and trademarks and the use thereof in media campaigns involving popular Nigerian artistes, especially in relation to its popular reality show, “STAR TREK”. We also negotiated the Terms of Settlement between NB and CBS Studios Inc. (“CBS”) following a contentious trademark matter and advised NB in relation to the proposed agreement between NB and a cable television station, to broadcast NB’s STAR TREK musical concert tour on cable.
We provide legal advice to Pernod Ricard in relation to its media campaigns. Our scope of work includes drafting and negotiating agreements with brand ambassadors; influencers and media personalities; drafting and negotiating agreements in relation to sponsorship of entertainment companies and sports events, such as the Spektrum Entertainment Company and The Socialiga Sports Club Ltd.
HEINEKEN MEDIA SCRIPTS
We regularly provide legal advice on advertising standards and other regulatory compliance issues to Heineken, through its international advertising agency, in respect of its proposed advertising campaigns. In this regard, we regularly review the scripts for the advertisements to confirm their compliance with advertising, broadcasting and other regulatory standards in Nigeria.
We provide legal advisory and company secretarial services to Insight Redfini – an advertising and strategic communications company and its six subsidiaries (Insight Communications, Limited; The Quadrant MSL Limited; Leo Burnett Limited; All Seasons Zenith Limited; Media Perspectives Limited; and TCC Brand Activations Limited). Our scope of work includes advising on advertising agreements as well as agreements between the company and third party vendors (photographers, models, videographers, production companies etc.)
We represented Endemol Entertainment B.V. & Endemol International B.V., the owners of the copyright in the Big Brother reality television entertainment show (“Big Brother”), in an infringement action against an Entertainment and production company on a proposed “NIGERIA” reality show, which was an unauthorized adaptation of the Big Brother show. In addition to instituting an action against the infringers, we also obtained an Interim Order of Injunction in good time (a day before the scheduled broadcast date) to prevent the broadcast of the infringing show.
BEFORE 30 DRAMA SERIES
We provided legal advisory services to the Producers of the Nigerian TV drama series, “Before 30”. Our responsibilities included negotiating the relevant contracts, drafting/ reviewing various agreements such as the artiste engagement agreements, film production agreements, funding agreements and other documentation.
We acted for EMTS in a suit filed against EMTS alleging the infringement of copyright in certain songs sponsored by EMTS.
We also acted for EMTS in a suit filed against EMTS for alleged infringement of its copyright to a popular television broadcast series (“African’s Next Top Model”) sponsored by EMTS.
We provided legal advice to Promasidor in relation to one of its media campaigns. Our scope of work included drafting and negotiating agreements with brand ambassadors and media personalities; drafting and negotiating agreements in relation to sponsorship of media CSR initiatives, such as the Cowbell Mathematics Competition.
We advised on, and negotiated the terms of the amicable settlement of disputes involving C&F Porter Novelli and a multi-national electronic company, on Communications Consultancy Agreements.
We advised Perfetti Van Melle Limited in relation to the engagement of an advertisement agency, for the provision of strategic marketing and operational communication services and media planning/buying. Our services included reviewing an advertising service agreement between Perfetti Van Melle Limited and the advertising agency, and ensuring all third parties engaged or directed by the Agency, subject to approval by the Client, to provide any of the services were appropriately and adequately insured and licensed to render such Services to the extent required by the applicable laws.
We acted for Namaste Laboratories Ltd. in relation to the engagement of a media agency, for the provision of confidential and proprietary marketing and advertising communication services (the services). Our services included reviewing a media service agreement between Namaste Laboratories Ltd. and the media agency, and ensuring that any person or entity representing performers (including celebrities, models, musicians, actors) engaged by it in connection with the services and/or any copyright holders, all performance rights, privacy rights, publicity rights and any necessary licenses required for performance of the services were appropriately and adequately insured and licensed to render such Services to the extent required by the applicable laws.
WTN BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS AND EMPIRE MATES ENTERTAINMENT (EME)
We advised the company on intellectual Property law and other legal issues in relation to the development, marketing and distribution of a Musical Animation movie
We advised on an infringement claim arising from the commercial use and exploitation of the images of an international sports figure, Chioma Ajunwa in advertisement. Our services also included advising on compliance with Nigerian advertising regulatory standards.
