You think of rabbits as a friendly sort, a kind, quiet sort. Not the lawsuit, lawyer-toting, fighting sort.
(Except for maybe that aberrant rabbit in the Monty Python movie, The Holy Grail. Remember that Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog?)
(Do you love me for this picture? Don’t you love it? Thank you, Wiki!)
But apparently, these days the rabbits are litigious. Did you know that Miffy sued Hello Kitty’s friend Cathy? (Did you even know that Hello Kitty had a friend named Cathy? Or maybe now it should be called Copycat Cathy.)
Yes, it’s true. Even the Wall Street Journal discussed it.
Why would two seemingly sweet bunnies go at it? Dollars Euros Copyright infringement, of course!
Miffy thought that Cathy looked too much like her. And Miffy was born first, like twenty years earlier, so there. What do you think?
Hmmmmmm. I can see why Miffy was miffed. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)
I must say that I know Miffy. And all her colorful children’s board books by Dick Bruna. To the zoo, to school, to grandma’s, Miffy gets around. Miffy even has a Wiki page. Does Cathy? Nooooooo.
But let’s face it, Cathy’s been ridin’ the coattails of a certain cat, so she probably doesn’t care about any of that stuff. She’s probably just chillin’, nibblin’ on catnip, and saying “yes, ma’am” to HK.
Meanwhile, Miffy, the financial underdogbunny proved her case and won. Cathy is not allowed to sell her wares in the Netherlands. That oughta make no dent in the feline empire teach that kitten a lesson. Yay, Miffy!!
Yes, Hello Kitty’s lawyers may have lost the legal battle, but they won the marketing war. Hello Kitty can go cry all the way to her friend’s place, Neiman Marcus. Ca-ching!
