The daughters of Yo soy Betty, la fea creator Fernando Gaitán have filed a lawsuit against Colombian broadcaster and producer RCN Televisión, alleging the company never obtained the rights to exploit the iconic telenovela on streaming platforms because the original contract predates the digital era.
Ana María and Luisa Gaitán confirmed they have initiated legal proceedings before Colombia's National Copyright Directorate (DNDA), arguing that the agreement signed in 1995 authorized television distribution but did not contemplate streaming services, which did not yet exist. According to the sisters, the continued availability of Yo soy Betty, la fea on platforms including Prime Video has generated years of exploitation without a new agreement covering digital rights.
"Our father died, and that was it. RCN never called us," Ana María Gaitán said in an interview with Colombian outlet Brava News, adding that the family only began examining the author's rights after Fernando Gaitán died in 2019.
RCN has not publicly responded to the allegations.
The lawsuit places one of the most valuable television franchises in history at the center of a legal battle that could have implications far beyond Colombia.
Originally premiering in 1999, Yo soy Betty, la fea became a global phenomenon, earning recognition from Guinness World Records as the world's most successful telenovela. The story of Beatriz "Betty" Pinzón, a brilliant economist underestimated because of her appearance, has been broadcast in more than 180 countries, dubbed into dozens of languages and adapted more than 20 times around the world.
Among its most famous remakes is ABC's Emmy-winning Ugly Betty, which launched America Ferrera into stardom in the United States. Other successful adaptations were produced in Mexico (La fea más bella), Germany (Verliebt in Berlin), Spain (Yo soy Bea), India (Jassi Jaissi Koi Nahin), Russia and Brazil, making the Colombian original one of television's most exported scripted formats.
The franchise found new life in the streaming era. After enjoying renewed popularity online, the original series became available on Prime Video, where it continues to attract audiences decades after its television debut. The show's resurgence led Prime Video to commission Betty, la fea: La historia continúa, a sequel produced by RCN Studios that reunited much of the original cast and premiered in 2024. Amazon later renewed the series after announcing it became the most-watched Latin American original in Prime Video history and the platform's biggest title ever in Colombia. The third season is expected later this year.
According to the Gaitán family, that renewed commercial success is precisely why the question of streaming rights has become so significant.
The sisters argue that because the original contract was negotiated years before Netflix, Prime Video and other streaming platforms existed, RCN was required to obtain new authorization before commercially exploiting the series in the digital age. The lawsuit seeks recognition of what they describe as the family's economic rights over Fernando Gaitán's work.
The case arrives as copyright disputes over legacy television programming become increasingly common worldwide. Courts in several countries have been asked to determine whether contracts written for broadcast television automatically extend to streaming services or whether digital distribution requires separate licensing agreements.
While the proceedings remain in their early stages, the lawsuit could become a landmark case in Latin America's entertainment industry. A ruling in favor of the Gaitán family could influence how classic television productions are licensed for streaming and how creators or their heirs are compensated when decades-old hits find new audiences on digital platforms.
