Warner Brothers was sued for trademark infringement and copyright infringement by the creators of video-based internet memes Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat. These two videos have been viewed over 245,000,000 times, collectively.
Keyboard Cat is a 54 second video uploaded to YouTube in 2007 that shows a cat playing a keyboard. Staring in the video, which was originally shot in 1984 is a cat named “Fatso.” The video meme has been viewed 61,828,907 times since it was posted. Fatso died in 1987. Charlie Schmidt, the owner of Keyboard Cat sued for copyright infringement and trademark infringement over the appearance of his cat, without permission in a video game (wikipedia).
Nyan Cat, well, Nyan Cat is annoying and best described by the Plaintiff’s complaint: “a character with a cat’s face and a body resembling a horizontal breakfast bar with pink frosting sprinkled with light red dots” that “flies across the screen, leaving a stream of exhaust in the form of a bright rainbow in its wake.” This 3:36 video meme of an animated cartoon cat with a Pop-Tart for a torso, flying through space, and leaving a rainbow trail behind is merged a Japanese pop song and had been viewed 187,056,692 since it was posted 10 years ago on April 5, 2011. Christopher Torres the owner of NyanCat sued for copyright infringement and trademark infringement over the appearance of his cat, without permission in a video game (wikipedia).
The creators of Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat claim that WB Games’, subsidiary of Warner Brothers, recent game Scribblenaughts constitutes trademark infringement and copyright infringement of Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat. The creators of the memes have registered for both trademark and copyright protection, as evidenced by the Keyboard Cat mark listed within the United States Patent and Trademark Office database.
In short: they should have hired a video game lawyer.
For more information about protecting your creations, contact Revision Legal’s team of experienced trademark and copyright attorneys through the form on this page or call 855-473-8474.
Online affiliate marketing is big business now. Affiliate marketing, of course, has been around for a long time. Basically, a business or a person agrees to promote and recommend a product, a brand of products, or even a whole business in exchange for various things of value. Generally, the affiliate does not actually sell the […]
Read more about The Dos and Don’ts of Online Affiliate Marketing
Yes, as long as the proposed trademark meets the other requirements for registration. U.S. trademark laws do not require that only the English language can be used for trademarks. However, whatever the language, trademarks must meet the legal requirements, including functionality, distinctiveness, uniqueness, etc. For example, every trademark must function as a trademark in that […]
Read more about Can I Trademark a Non-English Word or Phrase in the U.S.?
In a new ruling, a California federal judge has declared the entirety of California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (“CAADCA”) to be unconstitutional. Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.99.28 et seq. See media report here and the Opinion here. The case is Netchoice, LLC. v. Bonta, Case No. 22-cv-08861-BLF (US N.Dist. Cal, March 13, 2025). The CAADCA […]
Read more about California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code Act Declared Wholly Unconstitutional