In a legal settlement recently between ACID members Big Little Toys and B & M Bargains in a dispute over a copycat elf design, undertakings were received from B & M that they will not sell this product again, agreeing to pay Big Little Toys the sum of £25,000 in damages and to pay their legal costs subject to the IPEC scale caps. The costs recovery process is ongoing.
Last year ACID member Sarah Greenwell, owner and creator of Big Little Toys discovered a look alike product launched by B & M Bargains which was almost identical to her product “An Elf for Christmas”. The B & M product was called “A Magical Christmas Elf”. B & M Bargains initially denied any infringement and continued sales of their product and so Big Little Toys issued proceedings at the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court.
Niall Head-Rapson, Director of ACID Affiliate law firm McDaniel & Co said, “We had a very strong case of alleging copyright infringement, registered and unregistered design infringement, trade mark infringement and passing off and we were surprised that B & M completely ignored this fact. However, when such a strong case exists Big Little Toys demonstrated that they were prepared to take a very strong stance about the infringement of their intellectual property and the result speaks for itself.”
Designer & creator Sarah Greenwell of Big Little Toys said, “The culture of copying would appear to be rife and I was determined to pursue my IP ownership to the end. I hope by taking on B & M I can demonstrate to all that it is not only unethical but also unacceptable to steal the ideas and designs of others. My award-winning product ‘An Elf for Christmas’ was designed to promote and reward good behaviour in the run up to Christmas.”
ACID Comment “Sarah’s product features an elf soft toy (boy or girl) and numerous interactive elements including reward stickers, thank you cards and signs, so it is not just the product but the journey around Christmas good will. Looking at the number of children’s charities B & M support the question has to be asked, ‘Is this in the true spirit of Christmas for children’ and an example of goodwill? Let this be a strong warning shot!”
The IP exists in registered and unregistered designs in the toys, unregistered design in the packaging and some elements of the product, copyright in the box and the various literary and artistic elements and a trade mark for the name. The success of the product and the reputation it gained also lent support to a claim for passing off. Sarah noticed that B & M had launched a copycat product which they had called ‘A Magical Christmas Elf’. This copied many of the key elements of the Big Little Toys product exactly (including the internal packaging) and also copied substantial parts of many other elements.
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