Jazwares, the company behind Squishmallows (which was acquired by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway in 2022), is suing Build-a-Bear over its new Skoosherz plush line for trade dress and copyright infringement.
Squishmallows were launched in 2017, exploded in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and have built a cult following of both children and adults.
Social media users were quick to point out the similarities between Skoosherz and Squishmallows during the former’s launch last month, for reasons that are likely obvious:
Image Source: Jazwares Complaint
Image Source: Jazwares Complaint
Image Source: Jazwares Complaint
Jazwares’ complaint alleges that Build-a-Bear has infringed Squishmallows’ distinctive trade dress, including their shape, “Kawaii faces”, embroidered facial features, colouring, velvety texture and squishable nature, and that Build-a-Bear is attempting to “trick customers looking for Squishmallows into buying Skoosherz instead”. The complaint also includes a litany of screenshots of TikTok and Reddit users pointing out the similarities between the two products:
Image Source: Jazwares Complaint
Image Source: Jazwares Complaint
Build-a-Bear, however, is not going down without a fight — you can read their response to Jazwares’ complaint here.
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Communications Law
Thanks for sharing this super interesting news story Maddie, with images of examples! It is very interesting that Build-a-Bear has opted to launch their Skoosherz line featuring such distinctly stylized versions of their own plush animals (such as the Axolotl) (para 21 of the response) after the success of Squishmallows. Is is also interesting how much emphasis the response places on the use of Build-a-Bear’s distinct branding features and how Skoosherz are advertised as only being available from Build-a-Bear, without addressing where the ideal to do spherical stylized toys in this style may have come from.