Offset Communications Slams N50m Copyright Infringement Suit against Qore Technologies

Alex Enumah in Abuja 

Offset Communications Advisory Ltd has dragged Qore Technologies Ltd before a Federal High Court in Lagos, demanding the sum of N50 million as damages for the alleged infringement of its copyright.

Offset, in the suit marked: FHC/L/CS/1994/2025, is claiming that Qore used content from a proposal it submitted in December 2022, without formal engagement, attribution, or a licensing agreement.

“The Defendant’s execution of the content of the proposal submitted to it by the Plaintiff without any formal engagement, attribution or a licensing arrangement… amounts to an infringement of the Plaintiff’s copyright,” Offset stated in its writ of summon.

The suit filed on September 29, 2025, by Jimoh Bamigbola and Omobolaji Idris, on behalf of the plaintiff has Qore as sole defendant.

Plaintiff, a Lagos-based communications firm, in its statement of claim said it a had previously worked with Qore on Public Relations (PR) projects and was later asked to prepare a communications strategy for the company, adding that the said proposal contained ideas on employee engagement, branding, and stakeholder management.

Offset however, alleged that Qore implemented elements of the proposal, including internal communication initiatives and branding concepts, without payment or agreement.

“The Defendant executed and integrated the propositions into its Public Relations and Communication Strategy without any formal engagement… with the Plaintiff,” the statement of claim read.

The plaintiff said it discovered the alleged infringement in April 2025 and subsequently notified the defendant, but efforts to resolve the dispute failed.

It is seeking, among other reliefs, a declaration that the defendant’s actions amount to copyright infringement, N50 million in general damages, N5 million in litigation costs, 29 percent post-judgment interest, and “an order of perpetual injunction, restraining the Defendant… from further infringing on the Plaintiff’s copyright.”

Qore Technologies, however, denied the allegations in its statement of defence, arguing that the plaintiff was only engaged for limited Public Relations support services on a project basis and was paid for those services.

“The Plaintiff merely provided routine and secondary Public Relations support services… for which the Plaintiff was remunerated,” the defendant stated.

Qore further argued that the ideas referenced by the plaintiff are not protected under copyright law.

“The alleged ‘ideas’… consist of generic corporate communication practices widely used by companies… and cannot constitute original copyrightable works under Nigerian law,” it said.

The company also maintained that no binding agreement existed regarding the proposal and that its branding and communication strategies were developed internally and by its consultants.

In addition, Qore challenged the competence of the suit, stating that “the Statement of Claim discloses no reasonable cause of action” and that the court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter.

The defendant also filed a counterclaim, seeking N6.35 million as reimbursement for legal fees incurred in defending the suit, as well as N2 million in costs.

At the hearing on March 23, 2026, counsel to the parties identified their processes, and the court adjourned the matter to June 22, 2026, for further proceedings.

The case is expected to test the boundaries of copyright protection in Nigeria’s Communications and Public Relations industry, particularly regarding the ownership of proposals and business ideas.