Exploitation of Wolfoo brand not affected by dispute lasting from 2022 - Lang Son Electronic Newspaper

Regarding the copyright dispute on digital platforms between the cartoon Wolfoo (owned by Sconnect Vietnam) and the cartoon Peppa Pig (owned by Entertainment One UK Limited - abbreviated as eOne) from 2022 to present, while there is no final judgment, the scope of influence on the right to exploit and use the trademark and image of the famous Wolfoo character set is of interest.

The Wolfoo animation IP is a "made in Vietnam" product that is commercially exploited internationally in many fields.

The Wolfoo cartoon character set is being traded cross-border by Sconnect Vietnam with a variety of products, including: movies, animated videos and music ; entertainment and education services; electronic game applications; licensing the use of character set images for brands (IP trading)...

The Wolfoo and Peppa Pig lawsuit has been complicated, prolonged and has attracted the attention of technology, businessmen, copyright experts... at home and abroad in recent times. However, Sconnect's representative affirmed that the scope of the dispute is only on the YouTube digital platform, does not affect the ownership of Wolfoo IP (Intellectual Property - IP for short) and Sconnect's business rights of Wolfoo IP globally.

To provide new information and public opinion, Lawyer Pham Van Anh, Head of Legal Department of Sconnect, shares more details about this content.

Lawyer Pham Van Anh. (Photo: NVCC)

Reporter : Could you please tell us about the current status of the copyright infringement dispute between Wolfoo and Peppa Pig in the Courts (July 2024)?

Attorney Pham Van Anh: Currently, developments in the Courts in the UK and Vietnam are showing many positive new points for Sconnect.

Specifically as follows: From 2022, eOne sued Sconnect for copyright infringement in British and Russian courts. Lawsuit in Russian Court The case has ended and the Court did not declare Sconnect to have infringed copyright. The Russian Court also prohibited eOne from filing a complaint against Sconnect for “Wolfoo is a remake of Peppa Pig”. The effective judgment of the Russian Court is a solid legal basis to affirm Sconnect’s ownership of Wolfoo.

In the English Court, the Court is in the process of considering the amended petition and the evidence provided by both parties and has not yet come to trial. However, since September 2023, eOne's parent company, Hasbro, has transferred eOne to Liongates (an American entertainment corporation). Following the transfer, eOne transferred the ownership of the trademark and copyright of the Peppa Pig IP to a subsidiary of Hasbro and sent a notice to the English Court requesting to change the plaintiff of the lawsuit to Hasbro's subsidiary, Hasbro Consumer Products Licensing Limited (abbreviated as HCPL).

Since the beginning of 2022, Sconnect has closely followed the progress of the lawsuit in the UK and has repeatedly requested eOne to provide documents and evidence proving copyright ownership with Peppa and to provide original videos , original artworks and original audio of Peppa Pig containing copyrights that eOne accuses Wolfoo of infringing on the copyright of those works, but so far eOne has not provided sufficient evidence. In light of the above situation, Sconnect is researching and preparing documents to make claims for compensation for costs due to the plaintiff's delay, causing waste. And the counterclaims against the actions of requesting the removal of Wolfoo videos on YouTube are baseless and cause serious damage to both finance and brand for Sconnect.

Sconnect has filed two lawsuits against eOne at the Hanoi People's Court, demanding eOne compensate for damages caused to Sconnect. The court has issued a notice. The case has been accepted, but has not been brought to trial due to difficulties in carrying out the procedure for serving the defendant, as the defendant has no representative in Vietnam. However, the difficulty is gradually being resolved as the Hanoi People's Court is considering service in the form prescribed in the Hague Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters.

eOne has now admitted their violations include:

+ Admitted to using the trademark keyword “Wolfoo” in the YouTube keyword set to attract viewers to a series of Peppa Pig videos.

+ Admitted to no longer being the owner of the Peppa Pig IP from September 2023, but still impersonating the owner of the Peppa Pig IP to copyright hundreds of Wolfoo videos on Youtube.

Reporter : Dear Lawyer, Sconnect is licensing the commercial exploitation of Wolfoo IP to many brands in many countries. So, is there a risk of a prolonged dispute when doing business with Wolfoo IP in other countries?

Attorney Pham Van Anh: I affirm: “There is no risk that affects Sconnect's Wolfoo IP Ownership and Wolfoo IP business rights”.

Based on the following grounds: Sconnect has full Copyright Certificates in Vietnam and the US; The judgment recognized by the Russian Court - this judgment is of course effective in Vietnam according to the Agreement on mutual legal and judicial assistance in civil and criminal matters between the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Russian Federation signed on August 25, 1998. At the same time, the judgment can also be recognized and enforced in China according to the Treaty between the People's Republic of China and the Russian Federation on mutual legal assistance in civil and criminal matters.

eOne’s claims in the UK Court relate only to Wolfoo videos on YouTube, and are limited to a number of videos raised in the complaint from early 2022. The videos have been completely removed from YouTube, so there is no longer any risk to the current Wolfoo business as they are not relevant to the lawsuit. In fact, the business on YouTube channels as well as other Wolfoo businesses globally from 2023 to the present has continued as normal, despite the regular large losses from the Violation of the opponent.

Wolfoo's other business products (film production; amusement park; retail; online games; television; OTT/IPTV on other global platforms) are not involved in the lawsuit and therefore do not have any legal impact or risk. For example, Wolfoo Game on Appstore/Google Play Store and Wolfoo video on TikTok were requested to be removed by eOne, but were not accepted by the platforms and still exist in business according to regulations.

Wolfoo has been granted full copyright certificates in the US and Vietnam; trademark certificates in Vietnam, the US and Russia; the EU is currently reviewing the application to grant trademark certificates to Wolfoo. These are solid legal grounds to prove that Sconnect has sufficient rights to exploit and do business from the Wolfoo IP brand globally.

To date, no court has ruled that Wolfoo has violated copyright since the dispute occurred. All commercial and business exploitation activities with the Wolfoo trademark and brand are still legally guaranteed and take place normally.

Thank you!

Source: https://baolangson.vn/khai-thac-thuong-hieu-wolfoo-khong-chiu-anh-huong-boi-tranh-chap-keo-dai-tu-2022-5015127.html