Maker of Pooey Puitton toy purses asks federal court to find there is no Louis Vuitton infringement
Image from Poopsie Facebook page.
The maker of Bratz dolls is opening up a new litigation front in a lawsuit seeking to establish that its Pooey Puitton toy purses don’t infringe the intellectual property rights of luxury handbag maker Louis Vuitton.
Toy maker MGA Entertainment sought a declaratory judgment in a lawsuit filed on Dec. 28 in Los Angeles federal court, report Reuters, the Daily Mail and Fashion Law.
The suit includes photos of the toy purse, which is part of MGA’s “Poopsie Slime Surprise” product line incorporating “magical unicorn poop.” The toy handbag has multiple storage compartments that hold materials used to make the slimy substance.
The suit says there is no likelihood of confusion between Pooey Puitton and Louis Vuitton. The toy handbag is shaped like poop and sells for $59.99. The suit also says the Pooey Puitton product is protected as a fair use and parody.
The Pooey name and product are intended to mock, criticize and make fun of luxury products that evoke wealth and celebrity, the suit says.
Side-by-side comparisons of the Pooey Puitton and a Louis Vuitton handbag from the lawsuit.
MGA has also been embroiled in litigation with Mattel, maker of Barbie.
Mattel had claimed MGA infringed its intellectual property rights by selling the Bratz doll, and violated its contractual rights by using the idea conceived by the doll’s designer while he was employed at Mattel. A federal appeals court vacated an initial $100 million award for Mattel.
In a new trial, MGA was awarded $310 million based on its counterclaim alleging a toy-spying conspiracy. The New Yorker chronicles the case here, while the ABA Journal spoke with the author of a book on the legal battle here.
