By Modupe Gbadeyanka
A suit filed against Nigerian Breweries Plc and three others for alleged copyright infringement has been struck out by Federal High Court in Abuja.
One Mr Paul Allen Oche had dragged the brewery giant to court, alleging that the defendants breached his copyright in the work The Amstel Factor: An Amstel Malta Guide on how to be the best you can be.
He further claimed that the settings, imageries used in brewer’s Why Add More? Amstel Malta campaign infringed on his rights since the firm neither sought nor obtained his permission to adapt and publish his intellectual literary work in their campaign.
When he instituted the case against the company in February 2019, he prayed the court to order Nigerian Breweries to pay him N1.5 billion as damages.
But Nigerian Breweries, in a notice of preliminary objection, argued that Amstel Malta is one of the well-known brands in its portfolio for which it had launched several campaigns over the years noting that Mr Oche was laying a false claim to the copyright in one of such campaigns launched in 2016.
While ruling on objection on Friday, June 25, 2021, Justice Binta Nyako held that Mr Oche had no locus standi to institute and maintain the suit and consequently struck out the suit.
