Endemol, Globo Triumph in Big Brother Case

SÃO PAULO: A Court of Appeal in São Paulo has sided with Endemol and TV Globo in their suit over an unlicensed Brazilian version of the long-running format Big Brother.

The court ruled that the SBT series Casa dos Artistas was an unauthorized version of Big Brother, the Brazilian edition of which is heading into its 11th season on TV Globo. SBT is banned from further airing Casa dos Artistas—which ran from 2001 to 2004—and has been ordered to pay damages to Endemol and TV Globo, the sum of which is yet to be determined.

Endemol and Globo filed suit against SBT in October 2001—the year Casa dos Artistas and Big Brother Brasil launched—citing copyright infringement and unfair competition.