‘La Reina del Pacífico’ Sandra Ávila Beltrán wins legal battle with Telemundo

• Sandra Ávila Beltrán wins legal battle with Telemundo.
• La Reina del Pacífico could now sue the network for millions.
• Telemundo used her image without permission.

Bad news is coming for Telemundo as Sandra Ávila Beltrán, better known as ‘La Reina del Pacífico’, did not sit idly by and has won a major legal battle with the network.

This paves the way for the Queen to sue Telemundo for using her image without her permission to promote the success series La Reina del Sur.

La Reina del Pacífico wins legal battle with Telemundo

On Monday, May 8, Sandra Ávila Beltrán won a major legal battle with Telemundo for using her image without permission. She is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence.

She was also threatening to sue Netflix México, however, the Instituto Mexicano de la Propiedad Industrial (IMPI) declared that there was no evidence to demonstrate that company used her image.

How much will Telemundo have to pay?

The Mexican Institute of Industrial Property ruled in favor of Sandra Ávila Beltrán, and fined Telemundo $25,000, a fairly routine figure for the media giant.

However, this ruling paves the way for La Reina del Pacífico to file a civil suit against the network. She’s said to be asking for $150 million for «damage to her image» or 40% of royalties from La Reina del Sur.

La Reina prepares for a civil suit

A winning strategy? La Reina first appealed to the IMPI to rule in her favor. After this victory, Sandra Ávila plans to file a civil suit for millions.

La Reina has a good chance of winning. This strategy has been used before when Gael García and Diego Luna sued Johnny Walker whiskey.

Telemundo’s justifications are shot down

Telemundo failed to tip the balance in their favor by saying while promoting the second season of La Reina del Sur the images were only used for informational and journalistic purposes, stating that they had been taken in public places, according to Milenio.

The Telemundo video that has already been removed from the internet simulated a news report and announced the new season of the series while several photos of Kate del Castillo as Teresa Mendoza were shown. However, the video also showed photos La Reina del Pacífico’s arrest in 2007.