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Warner Bros. Sued By Meme Creators Over Copyright Infringement

Posted by Soulskill on from the second-generation-internet-entertainment dept.

Krazy Kanuck sends this quote from the BBC: "Warner Bros is being sued for the alleged unauthorized use of two cats that have achieved internet fame. ... The complaint alleged that the cats were used without permission in Scribblenauts, a series of games on the Nintendo DS and other platforms. Court documents alleged that Warner Bros and 5th Cell 'knowingly and intentionally infringed' both claimant's ownership rights. 'Compounding their infringements,' court papers (PDF) said, 'defendants have used "Nyan Cat" (designed by Christopher Torres) and "Keyboard Cat" (created in 1984 by Charles Schmidt), even identifying them by name, to promote and market their games, all without plaintiffs' permission and without any compensation to plaintiffs.' "

6 of 210 comments (clear)

  1. Well... by Sigvatr · · Score: 5, Funny

    That escalated quickly.

  2. I can haz memes? by femtobyte · · Score: 4, Funny

    nyan cat is watching you litigate!

    1. Re:I can haz memes? by msauve · · Score: 5, Funny

      So, you're saying that WB infringed the memes, knowing they'd be sued, just so they could lose the case and set a precedent which they could then turn around and use against 4chan?

      I think your tin foil hat is borken.

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
  3. The LOLCATS endgame. by GodInHell · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well -- we all knew they were up to something -- now we now it really was world domination, just not the way we all expected.

  4. Re:A Taste of Your Own Medicine by langelgjm · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's Pop-Tarts®. You'll be hearing from our lawyers shortly.

    Sincerely,

    Kellogg Company Special Counsel for Intellectual Property Issues

    --
    "Anyone who [rips a CD] is probably engaging in copyright infringement." - David O. Carson
  5. Re:The second coming? by AioKits · · Score: 4, Funny

    Strangest Burma Shave advert, ever.

    --
    "Quote me as saying I was mis-quoted." -Groucho Marx