Don Benito Council Guilty of Carnival Poster Plagiarism

A court has ruled against the Don Benito City Council, finding them guilty of copyright infringement. The council used a poster created by Francisco Javier Torres Franquis for the 2016 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival, making only minor changes, to promote their own carnival in Don Benito in 2025.

The Commercial Court's decision, which DIARIO DE AVISOS has seen, states that the city council copied an artwork protected by intellectual property laws without the artist's permission. This amounts to plagiarism and an unauthorized use of an artistic creation.

The court found that the City Council downloaded the original Santa Cruz Carnival poster from the internet and used it as a base. They made only small changes, like altering the background or color, but these did not change the core of the artwork. The court decided these minor changes were not enough to make it a new piece of art, as the main parts of the design, its structure, and its visual composition remained the same.

As a result, the court has ordered the City Council to immediately stop using the poster. They must also remove and destroy all physical and digital copies. The City Council must pay the artist 6,500 euros in compensation: 2,500 euros for financial losses and 4,000 euros for emotional distress. Additionally, the City Council must publish the court's decision in local and regional newspapers and pay interest from the date of the initial out-of-court complaint.

The issue started in 2025 when the original poster's creator learned his design was being used to promote the Don Benito Carnival. This was confirmed to the newspaper by the lawyer representing the Santa Cruz carnival poster artist.

The lawyer explained that his client first emailed the City Council. When there was no reply, they sent a formal registered letter (burofax) and another official electronic message. Despite these efforts to resolve the matter amicably, the City Council never responded.

The lawyer stressed that the artist's main concern "wasn't about money, but about defending his creative work." Since the City Council didn't respond, a civil lawsuit was filed.

The court concluded that the 2016 Santa Cruz de Tenerife Carnival poster is an original artwork, protected by intellectual property laws, and that the Don Benito City Council used it without the artist's permission. The ruling specified that the municipal poster was created by unnamed City Council staff, who used the original artwork as a template and made only minor alterations.

The judge determined that this action violated the artist's rights in two ways: financially (regarding reproduction, distribution, and public display) and morally, by changing the work and not crediting the original artist.

The artist had asked for more money, but the court set the compensation at 6,500 euros. While the artist's lawyer welcomed the court's recognition of plagiarism, he felt the amount "could have been higher."

"Legally, the most important thing was getting the plagiarism acknowledged," the lawyer said. "My client didn't start this process for financial gain, but to protect his work."

The court did not order either party to pay legal costs because the claim was only partially upheld. However, it still requires the Don Benito City Council to remove the disputed material, stop using the image, and publish the court's decision in local and regional media.

The blame falls directly on the City Council, as no specific individual was identified as the creator of the 2025 poster. "No single person was found responsible for the municipal design, so the responsibility lies with the institution," the lawyer explained. The local government must cover the compensation and follow the court's orders.

For the original artist, the ruling offers professional vindication. "More than the money, what truly matters is that justice has acknowledged his work was copied and his rights as a creator were violated," his lawyer concluded.