Reportedly, Pablo Escobar’s Brother Is Suing Netflix for $1 Billion
Narcos is one of the most currently viewed shows in Netflix this days, telling the story of Pablo Escobar and his run as the leader of a drug cartel, but not everyone seems excited about it.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Roberto de Jesus Escobar Gaviria, Pablo Escobar’s brother, is suing Netflix for the amount of $1 billion over a copyright claim against Narcos, as they took issue with the company because of their use of Pablo Escobar’s name and story without permission.
The lawsuit was filed last year, and as Gaviria talked to The Hollywood Reporter from his home in Colombia, he was sincere when talking about his dislike of the concept of the Netflix show.
“I don’t want Netflix or any other film production company to film any movies in Medellin or Colombia that relates to me or my brother Pablo without authorization from Escobar Inc. It is very dangerous. Especially without our blessing. This is my country.”
When talking about the lawsuit, he said Netflix is “scared” but they are not backing down.
“Netflix are scared. They sent us a long letter to threaten us. Right now, we are in discussions… to obtain our $1 billion payment. If we don’t receive it, we will close their little show.”
The long letter Gaviria is talking about referees to the one written by lawyers for Narcos Productions, LLC (NPL), the company behind the Netflix series. The letter claimed Gaviria attempted to register trademarks in August 2016 for Narcos and Cartel Wars and it was called by the lawyers as a “fraudulent attempt”.
“For example,” wrote NPL lawyer Jill M. Pietrini, “Escobar [Inc.] claims that it has used Narcos in connection with things like ‘operating a website’ and ‘game services provided online from a computer network’ since Jan. 31, 1986. However, the internet had not been developed for widespread consumer use in 1986, nor was the capability to provide audiovisual works nor game services available at that time.”
