[DIGITAL Business Africa] – Irish company AC Shining Stars Management Ltd (ACS) announced on January 21, 2026, from Dublin, that it has initiated international legal proceedings against South African telecommunications group MTN Group Limited and several of its subsidiaries, for the unauthorised use of the registered trademark “MOBILE MONEY®”.
According to the statement released by ACS, the proceedings target the alleged exploitation of this trademark in 14 countries: Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea (Conakry), Kenya, Liberia, Namibia, Rwanda, and Zambia.
The claimant company says it is seeking more than €4 billion in damages, equivalent to approximately CFA 2,600 billion, for what it describes as massive violations of its intellectual property rights.
A trademark registered in 37 jurisdictions
AC Shining Stars states that it is the holder of the “MOBILE MONEY®” trademark, registered with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) under number ROM.1318304. According to the company, the trademark is protected in 37 jurisdictions across three continents, including Europe, Africa, and Asia.
According to explanations provided by AC Shining Stars, whose legal counsel is ensured by Maître Paul Bayemi of Étoiles Avocats (Paris, France), the protection invoked is based both on direct national registrations in around twenty countries—including France, China, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Namibia, Rwanda, and Zambia—and on a regional registration via the African Intellectual Property Organization, covering 17 African States, including Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Mali, and Chad.
ACS further states that these registrations were examined and validated by more than twenty national and regional intellectual property offices.
Legal action following unsuccessful non-contentious efforts
Still, according to the statement, the legal action follows several years of unsuccessful attempts at amicable settlement. AC Shining Stars claims to have undertaken non-contentious initiatives, including what it describes as diplomatic approaches, which did not succeed.
The company says it decided to refer the matter to the competent courts after concluding that its efforts had been ignored by MTN Group and that the situation could no longer be resolved outside judicial proceedings.
A contested commercial exploitation
In its communication, AC Shining Stars accuses MTN Group and its subsidiaries of having commercially exploited the “MOBILE MONEY®” trademark in several protected markets without authorisation, to the detriment of partners holding, according to the company, legitimate licenses.
The company considers that such uses constitute trademark infringement and justify the damages claim filed in the ongoing proceedings.
A warning to market players
Through this legal action and its public communication, AC Shining Stars says it seeks to reaffirm that the “MOBILE MONEY®” trademark is a protected intellectual property and that no organisation or individual is authorised to use it without prior written consent.
The company adds that any unauthorised use, including use as a generic term, may constitute a trademark violation and be subject to legal action.
At this stage, MTN Group has not yet publicly commented on the matter.
“MOBILE MONEY” trademark: what WIPO’s official registers show
Following the statement released by AC Shining Stars, Digital Business Africa consulted the international trademark register of the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) via the Madrid Monitor system to verify information regarding the “MOBILE MONEY” trademark.
The available data confirm the existence of an active international registration and reveal significant nuances in the actual scope of protection across countries and service classes.
A trademark registered since 2016 and still active
The “MOBILE MONEY” word mark has been registered since July 21, 2016, in the name of AC Shining Stars Management Ltd, based in Cork, Ireland. The international registration is listed as active, with an expiry date of July 21, 2026.
The filing language is French, and the trademark is represented in standard characters.
Three key classes for FinTech and telecommunications
The international registration covers three classes under the Nice Classification, which are particularly sensitive to the digital ecosystem:
– Class 9, relating to electronic equipment, software, digital devices, and technological hardware;
– Class 36, covering financial, banking, payment, insurance, and financial management services;
– Class 38, dedicated to telecommunications, mobile communications, and network access services.
These classes correspond directly to the core activities of mobile money services and modern telecom offerings.
Territorial protection varies by country
As provided for under the Madrid system, protection of an international trademark is not uniform and depends on decisions taken by each national office.
WIPO registers show that the trademark enjoys full protection in certain States, such as Morocco, where Classes 9, 36, and 38 were expressly accepted by the competent national office.
Conversely, in other countries, protection is partial. In Madagascar, for example, WIPO data indicate that only Class 9 is protected, while financial and telecommunications services under Classes 36 and 38 were subject to a partial provisional refusal notified in 2017.
A change of ownership was recorded in 2024
Another element appears in the official history of the trademark: a change of holder was recorded on August 23, 2024.
At this stage, the information available in WIPO’s international register does not specify the nature of this change (assignment, restructuring, transfer, or otherwise), nor the identity of the previous holder.
In the absence of these public details, it is not possible, based solely on the register, to determine the exact terms of the transfer or to draw conclusions regarding prior ownership of the trademark.
Key takeaways
The verifications carried out by Digital Business Africa, therefore, confirm the existence of a valid international registration of the “MOBILE MONEY” trademark, in force until July 2026. They also show that the scope of this protection varies across territories and service classes, a central element in any analysis or proceedings relating to the use of this trademark.
About AC Shining Stars Management Ltd
AC Shining Stars Management Ltd is an Irish limited liability company registered with the Companies Registration Office (CRO), the official register of companies in Ireland. According to information available in the professional database SoloCheck, the company was incorporated on Friday, September 3, 2021, and currently has a normal (active) status.
Still, according to SoloCheck, AC Shining Stars Management Ltd is registered under company number 703071. Its declared address is partial and located in Dublin 2, an area that hosts a large number of companies; the company shares its Eircode with more than 1,600 other registered entities.
The company is classified as a micro-enterprise, with a declared principal activity under code [6202] – Computer consultancy activities. It may trade under the name AC Shining Stars Management Ltd.
Governance and positioning
Contacted by Digital Business Africa, Cameroonian national Cédric Atangana states that he is the Chairman of the Board of AC Shining Stars Management Ltd. He further says that the company relies on “an expanded board of directors made up of international experts spread across all five continents”.
A company claiming an international footprint
On its website, AC Shining Stars Management Ltd presents itself as an independent international financial technology services company, founded on a values-driven culture and a long-term value creation approach.
Based in Dublin, at the heart of one of Europe’s leading financial hubs, the company says it relies on multidisciplinary expertise, structured intellectual capital, and a global network to support its clients and partners.
It claims an operational presence in more than 85 countries across Europe, North America, Asia, and Africa.
Declared areas of expertise
According to its institutional communications, AC Shining Stars Management operates notably in:
– intellectual property and investments in intangible assets;
– financial advisory and financial technology services;
– digital payments and international remittances;
– data analytics, business intelligence, and decision support;
– venture capital and private equity investments.
A model structured around five business pillars
The company states that it bases its long-term development on a model structured around five interconnected activities:
– intellectual property investments and private equity;
– digital payments and remittance services;
– financial inclusion;
– data analytics, insights, and business intelligence;
– international purchasing centre.
An intellectual property–focused strategy
AC Shining Stars Management says it invests in the acquisition, protection, exploitation, and licensing of intellectual property rights, including trademarks, patents, inventions, trade secrets, copyrights, and artistic assets.
The company also indicates that it is involved in the financing of intellectual property litigation, particularly when assets it owns or operates in partnership are, in its view, subject to abusive use.
In this context, as AC Shining Stars Management claims to base part of its business model on investing in the acquisition, protection, exploitation, and licensing of intellectual property rights, the legal proceedings initiated against MTN Group are expected to be closely followed.
They should make it possible to assess, before the competent courts, the concrete scope of this investment strategy in intangible assets, as well as its potential implications for the mobile money and FinTech ecosystem at the African and international levels.
