The Federal High Court in Lagos has dismissed a ₦1 billion copyright infringement suit filed against MTN Nigeria Communications Plc by Walls and Gates Ltd and its Managing Director, Okechukwu Udeichi.
The plaintiffs had accused MTN of unlawfully using their proposal titled “20 for 20” in the telecommunications firm’s 20th anniversary promotional campaign, alleging copyright infringement, breach of confidentiality and trademark violations.
Delivering judgment, Justice Ayokunle Olayinka Faji held that the claimants failed to establish any legally protectable right over the proposal. The judge agreed with MTN’s legal team, led by Obafemi Agaba of Jackson, Etti & Edu, that the document amounted to a general business idea not protected under Nigerian copyright law.
Justice Faji described the suit as “frivolous, speculative and vexatious,” adding that the plaintiffs did not demonstrate ownership of any copyrightable expression or show that MTN copied any protectable material from their submission.
“The plaintiffs failed to establish that the proposal enjoyed copyright protection or that the defendant infringed any legally enforceable right,” the court ruled, dismissing the suit in its entirety and awarding ₦3 million in costs against the claimants.
The case, marked FHC/L/CS/1935/2021, arose from a proposal submitted to MTN on September 17, 2019, ahead of the company’s 20th anniversary celebrations in 2021. The plaintiffs claimed MTN’s promotion, which awarded 20 sport utility vehicles to subscribers, was derived from their idea.
MTN, however, maintained that the proposal was unsolicited and created no contractual or confidential obligation. The company argued that its anniversary campaign was independently developed and that the plaintiffs had no registered trademark to support their claims.
In upholding MTN’s position, the court affirmed that ideas alone, without concrete and original expression, do not attract copyright protection under Nigerian law.
