The Internet has seen a lot of cat memes, but Grumpy Cat remains one of the most famous examples that can be found out there. For those who are curious, the real cat is a mixed breed named Tardar Sauce, who belongs to a woman named Tabatha Bundesen. Most of the time, Tardar Sauce behaves in much the same manner as other cats. However, she has a constant expression of grumpiness because of her feline dwarfism, which has resulted in a squashed face as well as the bubble eyes.
Regardless, considering the popularity of Grumpy Cat, it should come as no surprise to learn that she has earned a lot of money. For example, she is the spokescat of Friskies. Furthermore, she has her image on a wide range of merchandise that include but are not limited to books, plushies, and keychains. Finally, she even had a movie made about her, though said movie was not well-received by the critics when it was shown on Lifetime. With that said, it seems that one of Grumpy Cat’s business partners failed to live up to the obligations laid out in their contract, which is what resulted in a huge copyright lawsuit that has come to a recent conclusion.
What happened was simple and straightforward. In short, Grenade Beverage LLC secured the right to sell ice coffee called “Grumpy Cat Grumppuccino.” However, it exceeded the right that it had secured by selling a second line of products called “Grumpy Cat Roasted Coffee,” which was in addition to merchandise that made use of her image without having secured the authorization needed to do so in an aboveboard manner. Moreover, it should be mentioned that Grenade Beverage LLC didn’t just sell unauthorized products but also failed to share the percentage of the profits from the ice coffee that it had agreed to in the contract, thus making it that much worse.
Of course, Grenade Beverage LLC made an attempt to defend its decisions in the courts. In fact, it actually filed a counter-suit, which claimed that Grumpy Cat had broken its contract by failing to promote the products, which was beside the point. As a result, it is perhaps unsurprising that the jury were less than impressed, which is why they ordered Grenade Beverage LLC to pay $710,000 in damages for infringement as well as $1 in damages for breach of contract. Amusingly, while the attorney representing Grumpy Cat expressed her satisfaction, the famous maintained her usual grumpy expression.
Summed up, it is more than a little bit strange than the leadership of Grenade Beverage LLC decided to make the decisions that they did. There is no doubt about the fact that they sold authorized products. Furthermore, considering the commercial potential of Grumpy Cat, there should have been no doubt that they would have been hit with a lawsuit. As a result, while the outcome is rather amusing when viewed from the outside, it was also wholly unsurprising.
Follow Us
