The Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC, has filed a criminal charge against the Nigerian Breweries PLC and its managing director, Johan Anthonie Doyer.

The commission, in charge number FHC/ABJ/CR/163/2017, filed at a federal high court in Abuja, accused the NB Plc and its MD of infringing on copies of a book titled, “The Amstel Factor”, a book in which copyright subsist in favour of one Mr Paul Allen Oche.

Apart from the criminal charge, another separate suit has also been filed against the company by a South African firm, D.D.B, Mr. Sampson Oloche and Heineken BV, Netherlands.

The plaintiff, Allen Oche, in the charge and separate suit, exclusively obtained by LEADERSHIP Friday, is praying the court for a declaration that he is the owner of the copyright over the intellectual literary work titled “The Amstel Factor” an Amstel Malta Guide on how to be the best you can be.

In the Writ of Summon with suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/145/2019, the plaintiff is also praying the court to declare that he is the only person entitled to grant to the defendants, or any other party, the right to use the intellectual literary work contained in the book titled “The Amstel Factor” or permit the derivative adaptation of the book to be published to the public in any form.

Oche, through his counsel, Mr Paul Ekwueme, prayed the court to declare that the settings, scenes, imageries used in the defendant’s “Why Add More?” Amstel Malta brand product campaign constitute an infringement of the his copyright in the corresponding setting, scenes, imageries and even words since the defendants’ neither sought nor obtained his authorisation to adapt and publish his intellectual literary work in their “Why Add More?” campaign.

He asked the court to award him N500million as general damages for the unlawful infringement of his intellectual literary work.

Also in addition, he prayed the court for N1billion as aggravated and exemplary damages against the defendants jointly and severally for unlawfully, capriciously, maliciously and contemptuously infringing on his copyright in the intellectual literary work titled “The Amstel Factor” an Amstel Malta Guide on how to be the best you can be.

•Excerpted from a Leadership report