Toymaker Kellytoy sues Ty over ‘Puffies’ plush toy
Games and toys maker and distributor Kellytoy Worldwide is suing Ty, a US stuffed toy manufacturer, claiming the latter’s introduction of its “Puffies” range is a deliberate act to piggyback on Kellytoy’s trademarked “Puffy” range of so-called ‘plush’ toys.
“Defendant Ty has embarked on a transparent campaign to hijack Kellytoy USA and Kellytoy Worldwide long standing and well-earned goodwill in the plush toy marketplace by infringing on Kellytoy USA’s registered trademark and Kellytoy Worldwide’s distinctive trade dress,” said Kellytoy in the court documents.
Kellytoy also alleges that “Ty, in its haste to sow customer confusion and consequently draw business from Kellytoy USA, has employed a name ‘Puffies’, a virtual and linguistic replica of Kellytoy USA’s registered ‘Puffy’ trademark”, said the court documents, filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
The Ty mark “sounds the same, looks the same, means essentially the same thing, and is used for similar goods as Kellytoy USA uses in connection with its long established Puffy trademark,” said the court papers.
Moreover, the duplication is “plainly deliberate” as Ty is attempting to “confuse customers into believing, falsely, that its goods are associated with, and derive from, the same source of origin as Kellytoy USA’s products”, the filing said.
Among other things, Kellytoy is asking that the defendants be restrained from “manufacturing, importing, distributing, advertising, offering to sell or selling the infringing plush or any colorable imitations of the Puffy trademark”.
A plush toy is often shaped like an animal, and is stuffed and covered with soft material.
Kellytoy is also demanding that Ty is stopped from using “any false designation of origin, or representing or suggesting directly or by implication that defendants, or any brands or other sources identifiers used by defendants, or their toys, are affiliated with, associated with, authorized by, or otherwise connected to Kellytoy”.
Ty is an US-based multinational corporation headquartered in Oak Brook, Illinois. Kellytoy Worldwide distributes and manufactures games, toys, hobby goods, and supplies.
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