American publishing company responds to Peruvian presidential candidate

By Espinosa Bellido Abogados

American multinational conglomerate publishing company Penguin Random House LLC answered a lawsuit presented by a Peruvian businessman and politician regarding a supposed trademark infringement case.

In March 2021, César Acuña Peralta, the founder and leader of the Alliance for Progress party and a presidential candidate for Peru’s 2021 Peruvian general election, sued the company and journalist Christopher Acosta in a lawsuit filed at the National Institute for Competition and Intellectual Property (Indecopi).

Acuña Peralta argued that “Plata como cancha”, the title of a book recently published by Penguin Random House and authored by Acosta, infringed a trademark of the same name registered by him at Indecopi. “Plata como cancha” is a catchphrase popularized by Acuña Peralta in past elections which refers to having money in abundance to employ for political and governmental goals and projects.

Acosta used the phrase as the title of his book, launched in February 2021, a journalistic investigation that looks to reveal the life, career and secrets of Acuña Peralta. After the book release, Acuña Peralta sued both Penguin Random House and Acosta for trademark infringement and requested the withdrawal of the book from the market.

The publishing company responded with a press release arguing that “Plata como cancha” is not trademarked in the International Nice Classification class related to newspapers, magazines and publications.

“The phrase is not registered as a trademark. Neither the publisher nor the author have infringed the intellectual property of César Acuña. Penguin Random House Peru is a publisher that respects Peruvian laws, with special attention to those that concern the field of intellectual property. And we are, above all, respectful of freedom of expression, as it encourages responsible debate and contributes to the construction of an informed citizenry,” the statement said.