Actor Gael García Bernal has scored a victory in the highest court in Mexico. The First Chamber of the Supreme Court has ruled in favor of García Bernal (Mexico, 1978) in a case against the Johnnie Walker whiskey brand, which in 2011 reproduced his face and that of his family in a campaign called “Walking with Giants.” . The actor sued the liquor distribution company and in 2019 the Mexican justice sentenced it to pay compensation of 40% of the sales derived from that advertising strategy. The company, Diageo Mexico, appealed the initial sentence and began a long battle that ended with the Supreme Court ruling issued on Wednesday.
The Chamber has unanimously voted on a proposal by one of its members, Minister Norma Lucía Piña Hernández, who asked her colleagues to analyze the case. The ministers, according to Supreme Court sources, submitted for consideration the constitutionality of the first paragraph of article 216 bis of the Federal Copyright Law, which establishes the compensation to be paid for damages. The defendants had considered that this article violated their rights and was exceeding the limit by setting a compensation that they defined as excessive. “What the Chamber does is analyze the constitutionality of the contested precept, that is, whether the article that was impunged violates the Constitution or not,” the sources explain. Now the case, judged by the Court, goes to the court of origin for a new sentence to be issued, but based on Wednesday’s ruling.
The Mexican actor has claimed that he did not give his consent for the Scottish brand to use his image in a campaign in which other Mexican personalities participated. According to the complaint, Johnnie Walker retransmitted the commercial at least 22 times during a month. It was a 50-second ad that showed films by García Bernal and the actor participating in social events or chatting with his family on vacation. “Since I found out that my image and that of my family were being used for a commercial without my authorization, the actions provided for by law and in accordance with it have been carried out. I am pleased to see that the Mexican courts and authorities are doing justice in this matter, since no one can override the rights of others, “said García Bernal in an interview with Millennium, granted in 2016.
García Bernal is one of the most acclaimed young actors and directors in Mexico. He has participated in film hits such as And Your Mother Too, Love Dogs, The crime of Father Amaro, Motorcycle Diary, Bad Education or No, on the referendum in Chile. In 2019 he directed the film Chicuarotes. García Bernal has not spoken after the Supreme Court’s ruling was known.
Subscribe here to newsletter of EL PAÍS México and receive all the informative keys of the current situation of this country
#Supreme #Court #rules #favor #actor #Gael #García #Bernal #lawsuit #Johnnie #Walker