I believe something is nagasakically wrong if, for instance, you (let’s say, you’re a Nollywood actress) takes someone’s brand name & slogan (let’s say) like Terry The Rapman’s “Boys Are Not Smiling” and use it probably to name your project, or a movie.
Well, this is exactly what’s happening between Uche Jombo & Terry Madaki popularly known as “Terry The Rapman” who has owned the slogan/trademark for over a decade, probably even before Uche Jombo got into Nollywood.
The rapper announced in 2017 that he was doing a movie (Boys Are Not Smiling) about his life which has been abuzz on the internet. Only recently did the actress post about her movie of the same name.
Questions arise in people’s minds; could someone have put her to it? Could she be afflicted with the “movie naming disease in Nollywood” (I have seen movies aptly titled “Beyonce”, another was called “Rihanna”). Could it be “culture-vulturing”? Could she be trying to take advantage of the mass appeal that the slogan has garnered all these years? Or could there be more than meets the eye?
Even the thought of licensing like is being mentioned on blogs online shouldn’t even come up as it doesn’t make sense in the least.
This entertainment industry “biting” problem has to be checked as it is growing and may soon get out of hand. Where one “steals” an idea/song/style/concept from another and probably because the “thief” put it out first the world thinks its theirs. This has been going in for too long. Having been in the Hiphop circle, going on two decades, I have witnessed this countless times.
People must begin to “damn the consequences” and fight the good fight to protect their intellectual property.
Of this bladadash, enough is enough!