Literary characters and copyright protection: the Pippi Longstocking case

The plaintiff in this case asserted itself the rightful owner of all copyrights concerning the literary works of Astrid Lindgren, the Swedish author of works such as Pippi Longstocking, Emil and The Brothers Lionheart. In this case, the plaintiff claimed copyright protection for the literary character of Pippi Longstocking against a picture, used in order to advertise a costume of a girl that—as the plaintiff asserted—showed the outward features of the character.