Of Rovio’s €152 million in revenue in 2012 (the latest figures available) the gaming/entertainment company gained 45% of their turnover through liscensing their brand out to the fluffy stuffed birds, candy, sugar water, physical toys, and other merchandizing. This number grew 15% from 2011, where merchandizing accounted for 30% of revenues.
These fluffy toys are a key part of Rovio’s business, and in response the company has been fiercely protecting their IP. It’s now been reported at GamePolitics that the Angry Birds maker has been awarded $700,000 in damages in a lawsuit claiming that several companies old counterfeit versions of these toys without authorization. The defendants against Rovio in this case were Jong K. Park, Royal Plush Toys Inc., Western Sales and Services Inc. and Royal Trade Int’l Inc.
U.S. District Court Judge Saundra Brown Armstrong wrote on the ruling,
“Specifically, Park has not shown that the Magistrate’s recommendation to award Plaintiff statutory damages in the amount of $700,000 rests upon erroneous factual findings or an erroneous application of the law. The Court finds that the record amply supports the Magistrate’s finding that Defendants willfully violated the Copyright Act by continuing to sell plush toys featuring Plaintiff’s copyrighted designs after being notified that they were selling counterfeit Angry Birds plush toys. The record also supports the Magistrate’s recommendation to award Plaintiff $700,000 in statutory damages.”
$700,000 is no small sum but you’d wonder if that’s much of a deterrent to less IP friendly parts of the world, like China, where things like a fake Angry Birds theme park have opened up.
For some “relevant content” for this video, check out this little kid filming vertically about fake Chinese Angry Birds toys. It’s all I got for you.
