Nelson Mullins Team Wins Dismissal of Telenovela Copyright Case
Mark Raymond, Francisco Armada, Sara Klco and Kimberly Freedman, Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel.
Mark Raymond, Francisco Armada, Sara Klco and Kimberly Freedman
International Litigation
In a battle over telenovelas, legal jurisdiction rather than the ratings were in dispute.
Nelson Mullins Broad and Cassel successfully defended TV Azteca, a Mexican multimedia company, against claims that it was part of a conspiracy to violate U.S. copyright law by broadcasting, distributing and reproducing two telenovelas.
La Tele Productions Inc. sued TV Azteca and others in Miami federal court, claiming the defendants duplicated its "Emperatriz" and "Las Dos Dianas" series after declining to buy them at a meeting in Coral Gables in 2001 and at subsequent conferences.
La Tele claimed over $20 million in damages and is seeking disgorgement of all profits received from the global airing of over 300 episodes.
Mexico City-based TV Azteca's U.S. subsidiaries, Azteca International Corp. and Azteca Stations LLC, operate 26 U.S. TV stations. But the company's general counsel denied it produced or broadcast the two series in the United States and denied La Tele offered to license the shows.
TV Azteca took a take-your-pick approach in its dismissal motion, arguing the case should be disposed of on jurisdiction, venue, forum non conveniens or judicial estoppel grounds.
U.S. District Judge Federico Moreno ruled in September that access to the shows in Florida and the meetings did not satisfy the requirement for personal jurisdiction to allow the lawsuit to survive.
Raymond, a longtime partner, has been involved in high-stakes complex commercial litigation for more than 30 years. Armada, Klco and Freedman are litigation associates.
