Latest news with #TheavonEngelbrechten
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Irish woman settles legal row over ‘mini soap-opera' videos featuring Sylvanian Families toys
The Japanese toy and video game company that owns the Sylvanian Families brand has dropped a legal case against an Irish online content creator with 3.5 million followers. Epoch Company took the case in recent months against Co Kildare-based Thea von Engelbrechten over her SylvanianDrama TikTok and Instagram posts which depicted soap-opera style dramatisations made using Sylvanian Families toy figures. Ms Von Engelbrechten, who is in her early 20s, was sued by Epoch Company in the southern district of New York in April for copyright infringement and for allegedly causing irreparable damage to the Sylvanian Families brand. In a notice lodged on Friday, however, the company said it was dismissing all claims, a move that would appear to indicate the parties had reached a settlement. READ MORE The details have not been disclosed. Epoch Company and Ms von Engelbrechten did not respond to contact from The Irish Times. On Thursday Ms von Engelbrechten posted to her SylvanianDrama Instagram account for the first time since January. In a statement she said: 'Hi guys, on the 19th August I will be changing the name and picture of this account. I'm not sure what to change it to yet so please let me know if you have any suggestions.' Since 2021 Ms von Engelbrechten has garnered a huge following online for her popular dramatisations featuring Sylvanian Families characters. She has 2.5 million followers on TikTok and one million on Instagram. She began posting the videos from her childhood bedroom in Co Kildare during the pandemic. In an interview last year with the Marketing Brew website, Ms von Engelbrechten said she began the SylvanianDrama TikTok account during the Covid pandemic. 'I was at home in my family home and we weren't allowed to leave, so the SylvanianDrama account was kind of a boredom thing that I started,' she said. Many of Ms von Engelbrechten's videos reached viral status with some getting tens of millions of views. Her popularity landed her major brand deals with companies such as Burberry , Netflix , Hilton Group and Marc Jacobs. These brand deals led Epoch Company to sue for copyright infringement as they claimed she was profiting from it. Many of her storylines dealt with darker themes such as domestic abuse, drug and alcohol addiction and self-harm. The second part of Epoch Company's claim was that Ms von Engelbrechten's videos had caused 'irreparable injury' to the brand's reputation. Intellectual property law expert Professor Eric Goldman of the Santa Clara University school of law said the reasons Epoch chose to sue Ms von Engelbrechten in New York were unclear. 'One of the possibilities was that Epoch hoped to get a judgment that they could enforce against US services like Instagram,' he said. 'That's just a hypothesis. However, we in America see a number of lawsuits from foreign entities suing other foreign defendants. And the reasons why they have chosen to sue in the US varies in every case.' Prof Goldman said a notice of voluntary dismissal in such cases usually indicates a settlement, an outcome he would have expected in this instance.
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Outraged toy firm suing over TikTok videos depicting children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs
The scenes are from videos posted on Sylvanian Drama, which has 2.5million followers on TikTok RAMPANT RABBITS Outraged toy firm suing over TikTok videos depicting children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs A TOY firm is suing over TikTok videos depicting its children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs. The clips show Sylvanian Families creatures drinking to cope with a failing marriage and robbing a shop. Advertisement 5 A toy firm is suing over TikTok videos depicting its children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics 5 Sylvanian Families creatures feature in videos toting guns Others include a nun hoping for sex with an ex and a graduate downing booze at the thought of having to work. In other videos a drink-driving hedgehog kills a rabbit, a cat drinks bleach after her husband cheats and a drug-addict moggie relapses. A video showing a cat using her new partner's caravan to run over guests at her ex-husband's wedding has more than 20million views. The scenes are from videos posted on Sylvanian Drama, which has 2.5million followers on TikTok. Advertisement But Japan's Epoch Company, which has made the popular children's animal dolls since 1985, claims the skits have caused 'irreparable injury' to the brand's reputation. Last month the firm filed a copyright infringement case in the US against Thea von Engelbrechten, 23, from Kildare, Ireland. She submitted a counter notice insisting her videos, which are also available on Instagram and YouTube, are a parody. Sylvanians are marketed as 'an adorable range of distinctive animal characters with charming and beautiful homes and accessories'. Advertisement Sylvanian Drama's popularity has earned ad partnerships with big brands including Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Netflix and Hilton. No new videos have been posted since December when a rebel group of gun-toting women are seen training to shoot misogynistic male animals. Mum left in stitches after finding her daughter play with a toy that looks VERY rude A pre-trial conference to try to thrash out a settlement is scheduled for next week. 5 One character is a nun hoping for sex with an ex Advertisement 5 A doll graduate downing booze at the thought of having to work
Scottish Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scottish Sun
Outraged toy firm suing over TikTok videos depicting children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs
The scenes are from videos posted on Sylvanian Drama, which has 2.5million followers on TikTok RAMPANT RABBITS Outraged toy firm suing over TikTok videos depicting children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TOY firm is suing over TikTok videos depicting its children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs. The clips show Sylvanian Families creatures drinking to cope with a failing marriage and robbing a shop. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 A toy firm is suing over TikTok videos depicting its children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics 5 Sylvanian Families creatures feature in videos toting guns Others include a nun hoping for sex with an ex and a graduate downing booze at the thought of having to work. In other videos a drink-driving hedgehog kills a rabbit, a cat drinks bleach after her husband cheats and a drug-addict moggie relapses. A video showing a cat using her new partner's caravan to run over guests at her ex-husband's wedding has more than 20million views. The scenes are from videos posted on Sylvanian Drama, which has 2.5million followers on TikTok. But Japan's Epoch Company, which has made the popular children's animal dolls since 1985, claims the skits have caused 'irreparable injury' to the brand's reputation. Last month the firm filed a copyright infringement case in the US against Thea von Engelbrechten, 23, from Kildare, Ireland. She submitted a counter notice insisting her videos, which are also available on Instagram and YouTube, are a parody. Sylvanians are marketed as 'an adorable range of distinctive animal characters with charming and beautiful homes and accessories'. Sylvanian Drama's popularity has earned ad partnerships with big brands including Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Netflix and Hilton. No new videos have been posted since December when a rebel group of gun-toting women are seen training to shoot misogynistic male animals. Mum left in stitches after finding her daughter play with a toy that looks VERY rude A pre-trial conference to try to thrash out a settlement is scheduled for next week. 5 One character is a nun hoping for sex with an ex 5 A doll graduate downing booze at the thought of having to work
The Sun
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Outraged toy firm suing over TikTok videos depicting children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs
A TOY firm is suing over TikTok videos depicting its children's dolls as sex-mad alcoholics hooked on drugs. The clips show Sylvanian Families creatures drinking to cope with a failing marriage and robbing a shop. 5 5 Others include a nun hoping for sex with an ex and a graduate downing booze at the thought of having to work. In other videos a drink-driving hedgehog kills a rabbit, a cat drinks bleach after her husband cheats and a drug -addict moggie relapses. A video showing a cat using her new partner's caravan to run over guests at her ex-husband's wedding has more than 20million views. The scenes are from videos posted on Sylvanian Drama, which has 2.5million followers on TikTok. But Japan's Epoch Company, which has made the popular children's animal dolls since 1985, claims the skits have caused 'irreparable injury' to the brand's reputation. Last month the firm filed a copyright infringement case in the US against Thea von Engelbrechten, 23, from Kildare, Ireland. She submitted a counter notice insisting her videos, which are also available on Instagram and YouTube, are a parody. Sylvanians are marketed as 'an adorable range of distinctive animal characters with charming and beautiful homes and accessories'. Sylvanian Drama's popularity has earned ad partnerships with big brands including Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Netflix and Hilton. No new videos have been posted since December when a rebel group of gun-toting women are seen training to shoot misogynistic male animals. Mum left in stitches after finding her daughter play with a toy that looks VERY rude A pre-trial conference to try to thrash out a settlement is scheduled for next week. 5 5
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
TikTok videos of animal dolls are no fun for toymaker who is SUING social media account
The viral clips of Sylvanian families drinking, dealing drugs, arguing and cheating on their partners have become fan favourites on TikTok. But the melodramatic vignettes, which include a mouse relapsing on ketamine and a hedgehog drink driving, could be a thing of the past. The scenes posted under the username Sylvanian Drama on social media, feature storylines starring Sylvanian Families figures and have racked up more than three millions followers on TikTok and Instagram. But now the mastermind behind the viral videos is under attack after the Japanese maker of the toys, Epoch Company, filed an infringement case in the US, claiming the videos have caused 'irreparable injury' to its reputation. In response, the owner of the account, Thea von Engelbrechten, from Ireland, filed a counternotice claiming her works were 'parody'. The small velvet animal toys first launched in 1985 with characters including dogs, bears, foxes and penguins. The plush toys live in mansions and houses filled with sumptuous furniture and gorgeous decor. While they were originally marketed as children's toys, the viral videos have significantly darker, more adult themes with skits captioned with 'My marriage is falling apart' and 'Your daughter has been kidnapped'. The videos, posted on Instagram, YouTube, X, Facebook and TikTok have millions of views and the account has even partnered with luxury brands from Marc Jacobs, to Burberry, and Hilton for advertisements. Court documents filed by Epoch with the southern district of New York on July 4, first reported by the BBC, accused Von Engelbrechten of infringing the company's copyright without its permission, causing irreparable injury to its goodwill and reputation. One stated that in an interview with Fohr, an influencer marketing company, Von Engelbrechten said her inspiration for the storylines came from 'cringey TV shows and early 2000s comedy'. But Epoch alleged that, even though the creator had changed things about the toys including dressing them in 'different costumes' and adding 'fake eyelashes', the advertising deals were a form of unfair competition because they featured the toys for commercial gain without the company's permission. Epoch attempted to take down the popular social media account before and briefly got it removed last year, but it was restored after Von Engelbrecht filed a counternotice. The Daily Mail has approached Von Engelbrecht and Epoch Company for comment.
