MIAMI –– A federal judge threw out a copyright lawsuit over two Mexican telenovelas.
In the Sept. 25 ruling, Judge Federico Moreno of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida dismissed La Tele Productions' lawsuit against TV Azteca, Comarex, and Investment Media Group. The judge found the court lacked jurisdiction.
According to court documents, the plaintiff accused the companies of producing and broadcasting its two telenovelas "Emperatriz" and "Las Dos Dianas" after previously declining to buy them.
The plaintiff claims that TV Azteca “replicated every aspect of the telenovelas, including the same plot, sequence of events, and characters,” the court documents state.
La Tele Productions sought damages and injunctive relief under copyright infringement, unfair competition and civil conspiracy laws.
However, the judge dismissed the suit, because the defendants do not do significant business in Florida.
“TV Azteca and Comarex are not subject to personal jurisdiction in Florida by virtue of the possibility that the telenovelas were broadcasted into Florida,” Moreno wrote.
Telenovelas are typically described as Latin American soap operas. They are some of the most popular television shows in Mexico, Central and South America.