Singer sentenced for copyright

By Francisco Espinosa Reboa, Francisco Espinosa Bellido

The criminal action refers to the declaration by Paucar that she was the composer of a huayno (Peruvian Andean music) called “Hijo mío”, on 2003. Balcázar claims that such huayno is almost identical y lyrics and music with her song “Hijito sin padre”.

After eight years of litigation the criminal court has ruled that plagiarism was committed, and therefore has sentenced a harsh penalty of 3 years of suspended prison for the singer. 

Paucar, a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, has appealed arguing that the only motivation for the criminal action is for the composer to become famous.

The Peruvian court system has been criticized for being too benevolent with industrial and intellectual property infringers, and it is always mentioned that no person has ever become imprisoned for copyright or trademark criminal activities despite the fact that several organized mafias operate in the black market causing hundreds of millions of dollar in damages to the formal industry and the government.

Considering that, this sentence appears to be particularly hard.