Pudgy Penguin hits the mark with his trademark clothing
PEI Licensing, the company behind clothing brand Original Penguin, has filed a lawsuit against the Pudgy Penguin Token Project, alleging trademark infringement, dilution and unfair competition.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Florida federal court, focuses on Pudgy Penguin Apparel, alleging the company uses a “confusing family of penguin trademarks” along with the PEI marks.
“This action alleges Defendant's unauthorized use and attempt to register Penguin word and design trademarks that are similar to PEI's federally registered and well-known Penguin and Penguin design trademarks in connection with apparel and related goods and services,” PEI said in its complaint.
PEI claims in its lawsuit that it has used the “PENGUIN wordmark since at least 1967” and first used the “Penguin design” on clothing in 1956.
PEI Licensing said it sent a cease-and-desist order to Pudgy Penguins in October 2023, saying “the products infringe and tarnish PEI's famous penguin mark.”
The letter also asked Pudgy Penguins to drop applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office to “register various penguin marks.”
PEI said Pudgy Penguins “misappropriated PEI's valuable property rights,” which “may cause confusion or error or mislead members of the consuming public.”
PEI has asked the USPTO to reject Pudgy Penguin's applications and to stop the company's trademark infringement lawsuits.
RELATED: SEC settles lawsuit against Justin Sun with $10M settlement
Pudgy Penguin is also seeking an injunction to destroy products that are “likely to be confused” with PEI's trademarks and to forfeit all profits from the sale of such products.
Jennifer McGlone, head of legal at Pudgy Penguin, told Cointelegraph that the company was “surprised by the move, particularly as both parties have engaged in productive discussions to resolve this matter privately.”
McGlone said the company has outstanding applications with the USPTO and “I am convinced that PEI's claims are without merit. The trademarks in question are visually distinct and serve entirely different audiences and markets.”
“Pudgy Penguin has secured multiple trademark application approvals from the USPTO covering the Pudgy Penguin brand and related marks, so we are confident we will win,” she said.
Meanwhile, Pudgy Penguin X's account posted a meme showing that the logo bears no resemblance to the original Penguin.
Magazine: Transparency Law Risks Repeating Europe's Mistakes, Crypto Lawyer Warns
