Ayodele Olalere
An alleged copyright infringement suit filed against Nigerian Breweries Plc has been striked out by a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja.
The suit was filed in February 2019 by one Mr. Paul Allen Oche and three others against NB.The petitioners had claimed the sum of N1.5 billion being damages against the Company for the alleged breach of his copyright in the work “The Amstel Factor: An Amstel Malta Guide on how to be the best you can be”.
The NB had also filed a preliminary objection to the suit stating that Amstel Malta is one of the well-known brands in its portfolio for which it had launched several campaigns over the years and that the petitioners were laying a false claim to the copyright in one of such campaigns launched in 2016.
In her ruling, Justice Binta Nyako held that the petitioners had no locus standi to institute and maintain the suit and consequently struck it out.
The petitioners had earlier lodged a similar complaint at the Nigerian Copyright Commission leading to a criminal charge against the Company at the same Federal High Court.
After a further review, the Commission withdrew the charge against the Company in October 2019
