Cross Border IP Protection: Coming 2 America v. Ugo Monye’s Reale Design

33 Years Later…

Set in the fictional African country of Zamunda in 1988, Coming to America is a block buster movie worth $288 million (£224 million) worldwide gross, it remains one of the most commercially successful movies ever to have a predominantly black cast. 33 years down the line, Coming 2 America was released in 2021 with a plot centered not around the search for a wife, but instead for a new heir to Zamunda. 

The 2021 Zamunda definitely had more depth by including more details of the African society and how it’s governed. Part of the casts of the movie were also actors native to the continent, such as Davido, Michael Blackson and so many others.

In depicting the African culture, the costume designs used in the movie were primarily of African origin. Among the designs used in the movie was the popular Reale design by Ugo Monye, a Nigerian Fashion designer. The Reale design became a fashion statement in Nigeria in 2017 when a Nigerian Celebrity/ style icon, Ebuka wore the Reale design to the celebrity wedding of Banky W and Adesuwa.

The Reale design which features a kimono and is considered the less bulky concept of the Nigerian Agbada attire was used without the authorization of the designer in the movie, “Coming 2 America”. According to the designer, The producers of the movie through Ruth E. Carter, the costumer, commissioned tailors in Nigeria to reproduce outfits that infringed on the Reale design protected by the Copyright Act, Trademarks Act, and other Nigerian penal laws and international treaties.

As a designer, it is imperative to have one’s design registered under the Intellectual Property laws which make provision for the protection of  fashion brands and certain elements of fashion designs. A design may be protected through any of the following areas of Intellectual Property Law and they include:

• The Copyright Law subject to the Nigerian Copyright Act
• The Trademark Law subject to the Nigerian Trademark Act
• The Design Patent law subject to the Nigerian Patent and Design Act