How Grumpy is Your Cat?

Stone sculptures of jewelry-adorned cats dating back to at least 500 BC have been discovered in Egypt. Feline goddesses were recorded in texts dated thousands of years earlier. In 1888, a farmer in Egypt stumbled upon a tomb containing eighty-thousand mummified cats. While it is estimated that the first domesticated cats appeared ten thousand years ago in the Fertile Crescent, savvy persons have long recognized that an international cat-cabal has quietly controlled human development for at least as long. It is no accident that cats dominate the internet.

On January 23, 2018, a jury in the Central District of California awarded more than $700,000 to Grumpy Cat Limited after it sued several parties for copyright infringement and trademark infringement. The jury awarded $230,000 for the copyright infringement claim and $480,000 for the trademark infringement claim.

The complaint stated that “Grumpy Cat (a/k/a Tardar Sauce) is one of the most famous and recognizable felines in the world due to her perpetually grumpy expression.” The complaint asserted four federal copyright registrations and three federally registered trademarks concerning Tardar Sauce. Without its federal registrations, the plaintiff would have had a much more difficult time obtaining the judgment described above.

Humans should take a lesson from cats and think about long term survival. Obtaining copyright registrations and federal trademark registrations may not seem like an immediate need, but it is much better to have a registration for both and never need to litigate than to find yourself in litigation wishing you had a copyright or trademark registration.

The cost of registration is minimal while the benefits are invaluable. Tardar Sauce gets it. Do you? If you are on the fence about seeking copyright and/or trademark protection, find a cat and talk it over.

Call Revision Legal. We know a lot of cats.