Grumpy Cat Wins $710,001 in Copyright Lawsuit: ‘Memes Have Rights Too’

January 24, 2018, 03:15 PM

Grumpy Cat has a lot of reasons to be less grumpy this week — 710,001 reasons to be exact.

The Grumpy Cat Limited company was awarded $710,001 in damages on Monday when a California jury decided that the beverage company Grenade was guilty of infringing on its copyright and trademark.

“I think, first of all, that it’s a just verdict. The jury followed the law and facts and reached a verdict that was justified based on the law and the facts,” David Jonelis of Lavely & Singer, Grumpy Cat’s lawyer, told TheWrap. “It’s nice that my client’s rights were vindicated on this. It was a hard fought battle.”

Grumpy Cat Limited, formed by Tabatha Bundesen to monetize the viral fame of her sour-faced cat (real name, Tardar Sauce), sued Grenade in 2015, claiming the company used the cat’s image on several of its products, despite only having the rights to sell a line of iced coffees called “Grumpy Cat Grumppuccino.”

The Grumpy Cat image appeared on Grenade’s roasted coffee line and tee-shirts, neither of which were part of the original deal.

Grenade filed its own countersuit, claiming Grumpy Cat didn’t hold up its end of the bargain and failed to promote the brand as outlined under the terms of the deal. However, the jury wasn’t moved by its argument and ultimately decided in favor of the meme.

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Luckily, I have enough willpower to control the driving ambition that rages within me.

When you had the votes, we did things your way. Now, we have the votes and you will be doing things our way. This lesson in political reality from Lyndon B. Johnson

"Some things are apparent. Where government moves in, community retreats, civil society disintegrates and our ability to control our own destiny atrophies. The result is: families under siege; war in the streets; unapologetic expropriation of property; the precipitous decline of the rule of law; the rapid rise of corruption; the loss of civility and the triumph of deceit. The result is a debased, debauched culture which finds moral depravity entertaining and virtue contemptible." - Justice Janice Rogers Brown