Food, drinks fair: Court fixes Nov 22 to hear N510m passing-off suit against bank
(Nigeria) A Federal High Court in
Lagos will on November 22 and 24 resume hearing of a suit by a businesswoman
Kehinde Abiodun, seeking N510million as damages against a new generation bank
for alleged passing-off.
Justice Ayokunle Faji fixed the
date on Monday, July 19, in the suit marked FHC/L/CS/616/2018 between sole
applicant Abiodun and sole defendant, the bank.
The plaintiff, in the suit filed
by her counsel Oliver Ilori, averred that she originated and created a business
concept called ‘The Shopping Arena (TSA)’.
The TSA is a sales marketing and
networking platform where wholesalers and retailers converge to showcase their
products and services at discounted prices to a wider targeted audience in a
more friendly and conducive environment.
TSA’s primary aim, she said, is
to avail Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) with a physical platform on
which to converge and market their brands, products and services to the public.
The Plaintiff averred that the
defendant operates an online marketplace for SMEs known as the GTBank SME
Market Hub which is an electronic platform on which SMEs are registered to
market and sell their brands products and services.
She averred that in a bid to grow
the TSA brand and gain further publicity, she resolved to partner the Defendant
to leverage on the defendant's multiple publicity channels, including the
defendant's SME Market Hub platform.
Abiodun asserted that she
approached Gtbank with a proposal for a partnership on TSA and the bank
accepted her proposal.
The claimant alleged that after
she was led to share her trade secrets with Gtbank, it shunned her and held its
fair using her ideas.
Abiodun averred further that the
bank passed off her business concept by using it to organise its Food and Drink
fair.
She prayed the court to award the
sum of N510million as damages and cost against the bank for allegedly passing
off of her business concept and intellectual work.
The sum consists of N300million
for passing off the plaintiff’s Intellectual idea and logistical data for the
organisation and hosting of the Defendant’s food and drink fair, general
damages of N100million, aggravated damages of N100milion and cost N10million.
She is also seeking, among
others, a declaration that the plaintiff is the originator and creator of the
Shopping Arena Business Concept and that the defendant has passed off her
business concept and intellectual.
Others are an order of perpetual
injunction restraining the Defendant from further passing off, a letter of
apology to be published in two national among others.
Gtbank, in its defence, denied stealing the plaintiff's idea, adding that the idea is not novel.
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