{"id":883062,"date":"2026-01-06T04:29:03","date_gmt":"2026-01-06T10:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/06\/nollywood-faces-copyright-dispute-as-lily-perez-accuses-chinney-eze-of-film-plagiarism\/"},"modified":"2026-01-06T04:29:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-06T10:29:03","slug":"nollywood-faces-copyright-dispute-as-lily-perez-accuses-chinney-eze-of-film-plagiarism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/06\/nollywood-faces-copyright-dispute-as-lily-perez-accuses-chinney-eze-of-film-plagiarism\/","title":{"rendered":"Nollywood faces copyright dispute as Lily Perez accuses Chinney Eze of film plagiarism"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Nollywood has been drawn into a heated copyright debate following allegations by filmmaker Lily Perez that fellow producer Chinney Love Eze unlawfully replicated major elements of her Christmas film, A Kristmas to Love, in a separate YouTube release.<\/p>\n

Perez, operating under Lily Perez Films, produced A Kristmas to Love as a festive drama that quickly resonated with audiences.<\/p>\n

However, the acclaim surrounding the project soon gave way to controversy after viewers began to notice what they described as extensive similarities between the film and another Christmas-themed production credited to Eze.<\/p>\n

The allegations gained momentum organically, with fans taking to Eze\u2019s YouTube comment section to question the originality of her film.<\/p>\n

Several viewers pointed out that both movies shared not only a near-identical plot structure but also overlapping character arcs and the same lead actor, raising concerns about possible copyright infringement.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the growing backlash, Chinney Love Eze released a video denying any wrongdoing and maintaining that her film was independently developed.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, the response appeared to further inflame public sentiment.<\/p>\n

Viewers criticised her explanation, describing it as dismissive, while others highlighted what they perceived as inconsistencies in her narrative, intensifying doubts around her claims.<\/p>\n

The controversy deepened when actor Baaj Adebule, who featured in both productions, publicly addressed the issue.<\/p>\n

In a video statement, Adebule revealed that Eze had watched A Kristmas to Love, contradicting her earlier public assertions.<\/p>\n

He also disclosed that he had raised concerns after reviewing the script for Eze\u2019s film and later contacted Perez to apologise before the second movie was released.<\/p>\n

\u201cI felt uneasy when I noticed the similarities and believed it was only right to acknowledge that the resemblance was obvious,\u201d Adebule said, admitting that the situation raised ethical questions.<\/p>\n

Perez has since reiterated that she wrote the original screenplay in 2024 and insists she has documentary evidence to prove authorship.<\/p>\n

She challenged Eze to present verifiable proof of originality and confirmed that her legal team has issued a formal letter of demand, signalling her readiness to pursue legal action if necessary.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis matter goes beyond personal grievances. It speaks to the protection of intellectual property in Nollywood,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, fan reactions have remained vocal and largely critical.<\/p>\n

Commenters highlighted identical storylines involving grief, romance, and Christmas-themed encounters, with one viewer describing Eze\u2019s film as a \u201c100 per cent copycat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Others questioned whether the script had been resold or recycled, while some accused the industry of failing to hold creators accountable.<\/p>\n

One viewer wrote, \u201cThis is exactly the same storyline as A Kristmas to Love. There is nothing original about it,\u201d while another lamented what they described as the casual recycling of scripts in Nollywood.<\/p>\n

Several fans also criticised the decision to cast the same male lead, arguing that it made the similarities even more glaring.<\/p>\n

Film critics and fans have since weighed in, noting that the allegations, if substantiated, could mark a significant moment for Nollywood\u2019s creative ecosystem.<\/p>\n

According to some fans, the dispute highlights longstanding concerns about weak copyright enforcement and could push the industry toward clearer standards and stronger legal protections for original works.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, as legal tensions mount and public scrutiny intensifies, the unfolding dispute is being closely watched as a potential test case for how Nollywood confronts copyright infringement in the digital age.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nollywood has been drawn into a heated copyright debate following allegations by filmmaker Lily Perez that fellow producer Chinney Love Eze unlawfully replicated major elements of her Christmas film, A Kristmas to Love, in a separate YouTube release. Perez, operating under Lily Perez Films, produced A Kristmas to Love as a festive drama that quickly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":883063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1743,35016,104640],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-883062","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-faces","8":"category-nollywood","9":"category-youtube-videos"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883062","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=883062"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/883062\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/883063"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=883062"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=883062"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=883062"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}