U.S. District Judge Philip S. Gutierrez ruled Friday in favor of Univision Communications Inc., in its long-running battle with Mexican television producer, Televisa over the rights to distribute Televisa programs over the Internet. Televisa, Mexico’s largest entertainment company, unsuccessfully argued it should be able to transmit the programs it licenses to Univision to U.S. audiences over the Internet.

Following a one-week bench trial, Judge Gutierrez ruled that the companies’ 1992 program licensing agreement “bars Televisa from sending programs to the United States by any means, including the Internet.”

“We are pleased with Judge Gutierrez’s ruling, ” said John Keker, founding partner of Keker & Van Nest. “His ruling confirms what Univision has contended all along—that Univision bargained for and received the exclusive right to Televisa’s programs in the United States and that Televisa may not undercut that exclusivity by distributing its programs over the Internet into the U.S.”

Univision was represented in trial by partners John Keker, Susan Harriman, Elliot Peters and R. James Slaughter of Keker & Van Nest LLP. The same team scored a favorable settlement for Univision earlier this year when Univision and Televisa settled a separate dispute three weeks into a jury trial.