The illustration in question, by the illustrator Mar Hernández,"Malota" Her website.
I reproduce the complete communiqué of the Associació de Professionals de la Il-lustració Valenciana - APIV, because I share their opinion; we must banish forever the false idea that some, too many, continue to defend that "this is how it is", that we must resign ourselves and that little or nothing can be done or achieved when an author's work is being ripped off.
For Atresmedia, those 16,000 and something euros are peanuts, but it must be understood as a necessary legal slap in the face and it is necessary to give it a fair diffusion. In addition, the process has dragged on for more than three years, which is yet another element that tends to discourage authors from filing a complaint.
Statement on the condemnation of ATRESMEDIA and 7 Y ACCIÓN, SL for the infringement of the intellectual property of our member Mar Hernández, 'Malota'
After more than three years of legal proceedings, this March the 28th Section of the Provincial Court of Madrid handed down a final judgement, condemning the production company 7 y Acción, SL and the communication group Atresmedia to compensate our partner Mar Hernández, 'Malota', with the amount of 16,000 euros plus interest for an infringement of her intellectual property, which took place in 2018 when the programme El Hormiguero 3.0 exhibited, as part of the set of a sketch broadcast in four programmes, a work by the author without her consent.
With this judgment, the Provincial Court recognises that the events not only caused clear financial damage to the author, but were also likely to cause moral damage, which has always been doubted by the co-defendants. In this regard, the judgment determines that "there is no doubt that the conditions and circumstances in which the infringement of MAR HERNÁNDEZ's rights took place caused her non-pecuniary damage". These circumstances range from the surprise at discovering the infringement, inadvertently, through television, to the impression of the low quality of the work, to the jocular and pejorative environment of the set and the sense of space in the sketch where the work is used. It is also valued "the persistence in the way in which the infringement presents the work, having continuously maintained access to this space through social networks and digital platforms".
There are many authors whose rights as creators have been violated throughout their careers, the belief that, in the field of art and creation in general, people work by vocation is still too widespread, often underestimating the value of this professional work.
Both the illustrator and her lawyer, Àlex
Devís, have considered it appropriate to make these facts public through the Associació de Professionals de la Il-lustració Valenciana - APIV with the intention of making the collective of creators and society in general aware that intellectual property legislation grants rights to authors and that we should not ignore these cases or resign ourselves to infringements.
APIV welcomes the fact that the lawyer Àlex Devís, who provides his services to the association, and Mar Hernández, as our associate, have resolved this intellectual property infringement in a satisfactory manner. This case is a huge incentive to continue with our work defending the copyright of illustration professionals.
