Publishers Fighting Law Preventing Publication of Unauthorized Biographies

In 2007 the famous Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos managed to ban sales of his unauthorized biography, after a court decision stated the author was not allowed to publish its content. It was one of the numerous cases in Brazil where the biography of a famous person had to be called off, since the law requires that famous people, or their heirs, authorize the book beforehand. Last week at São Paulo’s International Biennial, lawyers, editors and authors resumed the fight against the law, with The National Book Publishers Union signing a petition claiming the law hurt freedom of speech rights. Now publishers have filed a lawsuit asking the Court to alter legislation on the subject and declare it unconstitutional to demand authorization to publish biographies.