Warner Bros., 5th Cell sued over use of Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat in Scribblenauts
Warner Bros. and 5th Cell are about to enter a legal battle over the use of Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat in the Scribblenauts games. Both companies are facing a lawsuit filed by the creators of the Internet memes.
Keyboard Cat creator Charles Schmidt and Christopher Orlando Torres, the man behind the Nyan Cat animated GIF, have filed for copyright and trademark infringement.
The complaint states:
“For the past three years, WB, along with game developer 5th, have knowingly and intentionally infringed plaintiffs’ copyrights and trademarks by using ‘Nyan Cat’ and Fatso’s image in WB’s top selling ‘Scribblenauts’ games. Including, most recently, ‘Scribblenauts Unlimited’, which WB released in 2011.”
The Keyboard Cat and Nyan Cat can both be found in the original Scribblenauts, Super Scribblenauts, Scribblenauts Remix, and Scribblenauts Unlimited.
Schmidt and Torres both claim that their memes were used without license or authorization so that Warner Bros. and 5th Cell could “promote and market” the games. The two are now looking for an unspecified amount of damages to cover their claim and pay their attorneys’ fees.
One interesting note is that the first Scribblenauts, launched in 2009, came out a year before either meme was trademarked. And even though the Keyboard Cat footage was captured in 1984, it only gained popularity through the Internet in 2009.
