Nollywood actor, Actor Femi Adebayo has voiced concern about the rise in film piracy incidents in the nation.
Adebayo recounted his experience and how he recently prevailed in his battle against movie piracy on his Instagram profile, @femiadebayosalami, on Tuesday.
He pointed out that the unlawful actions of movie pirates had prevented the film industry’s payout from being maximised.
“The Nigerian film industry has experienced exponential growth over the years, but because of dare devil pirates who reap benefits where they did not sow, we haven’t been able to maximise the true dividends of this business,” Adebayo stated.
This is a big part of the reason why investors are hesitant to give filmmakers their money. However, we may gradually put an end to their operations by being persistent and making use of the legal framework pertaining to intellectual property.
I have fallen prey to movie pirates on multiple occasions, and I have never spared them. I just got out of court with a well-known media corporation that runs a major radio station and distributes video on YouTube.
The 2019 “Survival of Jelili” movie theatre run coincided with a strong box office performance for my film. They made the decision to mislead fans and divert money that should have gone to me by using my movie poster and title to advertise a film on their platform.
“I never wavered in my faith in the legal and justice system, even though it took three years.” with the commitment of Bola Adebowale & Co Legal Practitioners, our team of seasoned solicitors with a plethora of expertise managing matters of this nature.
They made a compelling case, provided indisputable proof, and tried the case. The case’s outcome was significantly influenced by their promptness, effectiveness, and attention to detail. We took home a whopping twenty-five million Naira as our prize.
This is a victory for all of Nollywood, not just for me as a producer and director of content.
Filmmakers, in his opinion, need to be prepared to combat piracy and theft of intellectual property on all fronts.
“With each victory, we get closer to safeguarding and realising the full economic worth of our creations,” he declared.