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Uchechukwu Oluwatosin Ani

Uchechukwu

PhD Student

Email: u.o.ani@qmul.ac.uk

Profile

Thesis Title

Stitching The Gap: Closing the Wage Inequity With Copyright (An Exploration Of The Role Of Copyright Protection In Addressing The Gender Pay Gap And Economic Disparity In Film Industries, Using Costume Design As A Case Study)

Supervisors

Summary of research

This thesis examines the gender inequality and wage disparity between professions in the Hollywood and British film industries.

The research focuses on costume design, a vocation with a predominantly female workforce, and its wage disparity with similar professions in the film industry. It aims to establish the importance of costume design to film by presenting its contribution to the creative and economic success of the film. The thesis also seeks to consider how granting copyright protection in favour of original film costumes would help redress gender inequality, empower female workers, mitigate discriminatory practices in the film industry, and promote the art of costume design for motion pictures.

Biography

Uchechukwu is an Intellectual Property lawyer, with a focus on the creative industries. She holds a Masters in Intellectual Property Law from Queen Mary University of London, where she researched film theory, marketing, merchandising, costume and copyright, and graduated with Distinction in 2019. She was called to the Nigerian Bar as a solicitor and barrister in 2016 and has experience in legal practice (commercial law; sexual and gender-based violence), creative writing, visual production, voice acting, and podcasting.

Uchechukwu commenced her PhD in 2020 at the Queen Mary Centre for Commercial Law Studies. She is passionate about women’s rights and storytelling, particularly through the medium of film, both of which informed her current research focus.

She was Project Coordinator (Interim) at qLegal - Centre for Commercial law Studies - Queen Mary University of London from September-December 2019. in this role she:

  • Assisted the qLegal Manager and Coordinator in dealing with and responding to client enquires by telephone, email and in person.
  • Assisted colleagues in student development and education by leading training sessions with students.
  • Ensured the provision of an efficient, professional and friendly reception service for all parties involved at qLegal, including clients, student advisers and lawyers.
  • Organised external workshops for student advisers, in conjunction with co-working spaces, institutes and incubators.
  • Supported the qLegal Team with social media (Twitter, Facebook and Instagram), canvassing and arranging internal and external workshops.
  • Made decisions, under the direction of the qLegal Coordinator to the suitability of client cases for appointments and dealing with the administration and qLegal Manager, as of client files, maintenance and organisation.

She was also a qLegal Summer Intern (August-September 2019), conducting research in the tech and entrepreneurship ecosystem, collating data and arranging it in a database. She also advertised qLegal’s services to tech start-ups and entrepreneurs, identifying opportunities for possible partnerships and building relationships with potential clients and partners on behalf of qLegal.

Research

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