Sylvanian Families embroiled in TikTok drama legal row
The beloved toys feature in videos from the Sylvanian Drama TikTok account, in which they are featured acting out adult sketches involving alcohol, drugs, cheating violence and murder but the Japanese manufacturer has taken exception to the social media content.
Epoch Company Ltd have filed a copyright infringement case in the United States claiming that the videos are causing "irreparable injury" to the company's reputation.
Thea Von Engelbrechten – the owner of the TikTok account that has amassed 2.5 million followers – has filed a counternotice claiming that her works are "parody".
Sylvanian Families are sold as "an adorable range of distinctive animal characters with charming and beautiful homes, furniture and accessories".
The toys, which have names like Freya the Chocolate Rabbit girl and Pino the Latte Cat baby, typically have wholesome adventures but the TikTok account features the toys with captions such as "My marriage is falling apart" and "My boyfriend won't post me on Instagram".
Court documents filed by Epoch earlier this month with the Southern District of New York accuse Von Engelbrechten of infringing the firm's copyright without permission, causing irreparable injury to its goodwill and reputation.
It states that Von Engelbrechten, who hails from Ireland, said her inspiration for the Sylvanian Drama storylines are from "cringey TV shows and early 2000s comedy".
The TikTok user added: "I'm also really inspired by my cats because they are extremely sassy and self-obsessed and can be so cute, but they also have no morals when it comes to killing other animals. I try to embody that with the Sylvanians."
Quizzed on why she thinks the videos are so popular, Von Engelbrechten told Fohr: "Maybe it's because it's coming from the voice of a 22-year-old who struggles with the same things as (they do).
"I have a lot of storylines about insecure people, diet culture, toxic men, and sustainability, which I think other girls my age are also thinking a lot about."
A pre-trial conference date has been set for August 14, when representatives from both sides will meet to discuss settlement options or to prepare the case for trial.
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