Build-A-Bear, Squishmallows copyright lawsuits allege toys are too similar

Build-A-Bear and Squishmallows copyright lawsuits overview: 

• Who: Build-A-Bear and the maker of Squishmallows filed competing lawsuits against each other. 
• Why: The lawsuits claim Build-A-Bear’s new line of Shooksherz plushies are too similar to Squishmallows, allegedly violating a copyright held by Kelly Toys. 
• Where: Build-A-Bear filed its lawsuit in Missouri federal court, while Squishmallows filed its lawsuit in California federal court. 

A new Squishmallows lawsuit accuses Build-A-Bear of copyright infringement with its Shookerz plushies, while a competing Build-A-Bear lawsuit is seeking a judgment that the company is not violating a copyright held by Kelly Toys Holdings LLC.

In a February lawsuit filed in California federal court, Squishmallows maker Kelly Toys and several associated companies claim Build-A-Bear’s Skoosherz plushies were designed by the company to trick consumers looking to buy Squishmallows into purchasing their product instead.

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, the side by side comparison of Squishmallows against the Skoosherz copycats speaks volumes,” Kelly Toys’ lawsuit states.  

Kelly Toys argues the alleged similarities between its Squishmallows toy — which it claims was the top-selling toy in the U.S. in 2023 — and Build-A-Bear’s Skoosherz plushies have not gone unnoticed by media outlets, who have allegedly referred to the latter as “Squishmallowlike” and “Squishmallow-adjacent.” 

Kelly Toys claims Build-A-Bear is guilty of violating Federal Copyright Infringement and Trade Dress Infringement, along with several California laws. 

Build-A-Bear plushies do not infringe on Squishmallows copyright, competing lawsuit claims

Build-A-Bear argues in its competing lawsuit, filed in Missouri, that Skoosherz plushies do not infringe on the copyright for Squishmallows because “no consistent overall look and feel or stable visual appearance can be discerned from Defendants’ Squishmallows products.” 

“Defendants’ descriptions of the features purportedly comprising their claimed trade dress have changed greatly over the years and as applied to various third parties accused by Defendants of trade dress infringement,” Build-A-Bear’s lawsuit states. 

Build-A-Bear’s lawsuit goes on to say that trade dress claims filed by Kelly Toys or related entities against other toy companies — including Ty and Dan-Dee Internationals, among others — have since been dismissed with prejudice. 

“In other words, Defendants have, by their own actions, permitted major third-party competitors like Ty and Dan-Dee to use, without any attribution to Defendants, the same trade dress features that Defendants now claim Build-A-Bear infringes,” the Build-A-Bear copyright lawsuit states. 

Build-A-Bear seeks a judgment that it did not infringe on any Squishmallows copyright, and that Squishmallows’ copyright claims are invalid and unenforceable.

In May 2023, Build-A-Bear agreed to pay $4.1 million to put an end to claims it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by allegedly sending unsolicited text messages to consumers who had already revoked consent to receiving them. 

Do you believe Build-A-Bear committed copyright infringement with its new Skoosherz toy line? Let us know in the comments.

The Build-A-Bear and Squishmallows copyright lawsuits are Kelly Toys Holdings LLC, et al. v. Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc., Case No. 2:24-cv-01169, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and Build-A-Bear Workshop Inc. v. Kelly Toys Holdings LLC, et al., Case No. 4:24-cv-00211, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

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