By Titilope Adako
Nigeria – Lagos: A Federal High Court in Lagos has ordered MTN Nigeria Communications Limited to pay N840 million to Citilink Accesscorp Limited for infringing on the registered trademark “WEBPLUS.”
Justice Akintayo Aluko, in his ruling on a suit filed by Citilink, held that MTN’s use of “MTN WEBPLUS” or “MTN WEB+” unlawfully mimicked the plaintiff’s trademark.
The court awarded N70 million in damages for each year from 2014 to 2025 and imposed a 15 per cent interest per annum on the judgment sum until full payment.
The judge stated, “I find and hold that the plaintiff has proved by evidence that the defendant has been using the trademark WEBPLUS in its product described as MTN WEBPLUS and MTN WEB+ in a manner that is confusingly similar to the plaintiff’s registered trademark.”
Citilink, which registered the “WEBPLUS” trademark in 2001 and renewed it in 2014, accused MTN of misleading the public and damaging its brand by using similar names.
The company also sought an order restraining MTN from further use of “WEBPLUS” and preventing the Registrar of Trademarks from granting the telecom giant any rights to the name.
MTN, however, challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that the case was still pending before the Trademark Tribunal.
The telecom firm also claimed that its application for “MTN WEBPLUS” in 2012 was made when Citilink’s trademark had lapsed.
Justice Aluko rejected MTN’s defence and upheld Citilink’s claims, granting a perpetual injunction against the telecom giant.
The judge ruled, “I find and hold that the plaintiff has discharged the burden placed on it to prove ownership of the registered trademark WEBPLUS as well as the defendant’s act of trademark infringement and passing off.”
However, the court refused Citilink’s request to seize and destroy MTN’s servers and dismissed a N10 million special damages claim due to lack of sufficient proof.
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