After the announcement by the producers Toni Cruz and Josep Maria Mainat, creators of Operación Triunfo, that they have filed a lawsuit for alleged plagiarism of the program Eufòria from TV3, the producer of the musical talent, Veranda Media, has accused them of confusing "formato and gender". In addition, both the production company and sources from the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation (CCMA) assure that they have not received any demand at the moment.
From Veranda it is stated that, in any case, the complaint "has no foundation" and remember that Cruz and Mainat used the same argument when Got Talent accused them of copying them to make another program, Tú sí que vales. "Joining universally used elements cannot constitute a format that can be recorded by a production company," Veranda recalls Cruz saying at the time.
Beyond the genre, the producer of 'Euforia' ensures that there are a series of elements that "differentiate" the programs, such as the image presentation, the conduct of the program, the locations, the sets, the profiles of the contestants or the rules of the contest, among others. "The originality of these elements and the particular articulation in each program is what determines the original format," she emphasizes.
The production company hopes that Cruz and Mainat are not using this "confusion between genre and format" in an "opportunistic" way and regrets "deeply" that "the joy" that has aroused a "massive and recognized success in Catalan" is not shared by some producers who "by experience and trajectory, know better than anyone how this world works".
Finally, Veranda announces that the company's legal services are studying the "pertinent legal actions" to "guarantee the defense" of their "legitimate" interests, as well as those of the professionals with whom they work, "whose professional dignity has been questioned so arrogantly, publicly and freely".
For its part, the CCMA agrees with Veranda that up to now it has not received any lawsuit, but affirms that it "fully trusts" the producer "in terms of the originality of the format". In this sense, he emphasizes that the initial proposal comes out "as a 'spin-off'" of the program 'Oh Happy Day', and adds that he has participated in the subsequent development with "crucial" contributions.
