In a case handled by Ritter Advogados, the Paraná Court of Justice (TJ/PR) confirmed that a clothing store had not committed copyright infringement in connection with a video about the origin of the meme “Reage, mulher, bota um cropped.” The court found that the content at issue was created from public sources and that similarities between the videos were not enough to establish a violation of copyright law.

The influencer claimed that she had originally published a video on Instagram explaining the origin of the meme and the history behind the clothing item, and argued that the store later copied the same content, text, and images. She sought BRL 30,000 in moral damages, a public apology, and an order prohibiting the publication of similar content.

The store denied the allegations and argued that its video was independently created using the same article from Educa Mais Brasil as well as other public references. It also emphasized that its content did not reproduce the influencer’s image, voice, or audio, but instead presented its own take on a widely discussed topic.

Both the trial court and the appellate court agreed with that position. Reporting Justice Rosaldo Elias Pacagnan held that, although the videos were similar and addressed the same meme, there was no reproduction of any exclusive or original element belonging to the influencer. The court further noted that common expressions and publicly available information cannot be monopolized through copyright.

By denying the appeal, the 20th Civil Chamber of the TJ/PR preserved the first-instance judgment and reinforced an important principle of copyright law: similarity alone is not enough to prove infringement when the allegedly copied material is drawn from public sources and does not reproduce original protected expression. In that context, Ritter Advogados acted in the case.

Source: https://www.migalhas.com.br/quentes/429895/bota-um-cropped--tj-pr-nega-plagio-e-loja-nao-indenizara-influencer