Xuxa is ordered to pay BRL 65 million for alleged plagiarism

In the second instance, the presenter Xuxa, 59, was condemned by the Justice to pay around R$ 65 million to a publicist who accuses her of alleged plagiarism. According to the lawsuit, she would have copied characters from his project, Turma do Cabralzinho, which celebrated the 500th anniversary of the discovery of Brazil, to create Turma da Xuxinha discovering Brazil. The information had been published by columnist Ancelmo Gois and confirmed by F5.

According to information from the Rio de Janeiro Court of Justice, the calculations considered the magazine’s print run and the reproduction of images on products. The action is still subject to appeal. Sought, Xuxa had not yet responded.

One of the author’s biggest complaints is that Xuxa appropriated the characters and that they were licensed so that they reverberated in other product lines, which would have generated more earnings for her. Still according to the process, if there is no agreement for payment, the presenter’s assets may be seized.

UNDERSTAND THE CASE

The case has lasted since the early 2000s, but in 2012, the presenter Xuxa had already been sentenced in the first instance to indemnify the author of Turma do Cabralzinho, Leonardo Soltz, in R$ 50 thousand for plagiarism.

According to the ruling, the characters from the cartoon Turma da Xuxinha were copied from the series created by the publicist from Minas Gerais, which tells the story of the discovery of Brazil.

The copies would have occurred in the set of characteristics that make up the Turma do Cabralzinho product, which included color, shape of the characters, word (Cabral), clothes of the characters, sizes of the characters, among other coincidences.

Based on these similarities, Leonardo Soltz decided to file a lawsuit against the company Xuxa Promoções e Produções Artísticas on charges of copyright infringement and misuse of a brand.