Original Penguin Brand Files Trademark Lawsuit Against Pudgy Penguins NFT Project
PEI Licensing, the entity that owns the Original Penguin clothing brand, has filed legal action claiming Pudgy Penguins' apparel line violates its trademark rights.
A legal complaint has been submitted by PEI Licensing, the entity that operates the Original Penguin clothing brand, targeting the Pudgy Penguins nonfungible token project with accusations of trademark infringement, brand dilution and engaging in unfair competitive practices.
Filed on Wednesday in a federal court located in Florida, the legal action centers on allegations related to Pudgy Penguins' clothing line, with PEI asserting that the NFT company has deployed a "family of penguin trademarks that are confusingly similar" to those owned by Original Penguin.
This action results from Defendant's unauthorized use and attempted registration of various PENGUIN word and design trademarks in connection with apparel and related goods and services that are confusingly similar to PEI's federally registered and famous PENGUIN and penguin design trademarks
according to PEI's official complaint.
Within the lawsuit documentation, PEI asserts that the company has utilized the "PENGUIN word mark at least as early as 1967" and began incorporating a "penguin design" on clothing items as early as 1956.
According to PEI Licensing, the company dispatched a cease and desist letter to Pudgy Penguins in October 2023, asserting that the NFT project's "products infringe and dilute PEI's famous PENGUIN Marks."
The correspondence additionally demanded that Pudgy Penguins withdraw its pending applications filed with the US Patent and Trademark Office "to register various PENGUIN marks," as outlined in the legal filing.
According to PEI's allegations, Pudgy Penguins has "misappropriated valuable property rights of PEI," which the company claims was "likely to cause confusion or mistake, or to deceive members of the consuming public."
The legal filing requests that the court direct the USPTO to deny Pudgy Penguins' pending applications and issue an injunction preventing the company from continuing to allegedly violate its trademark protections.
Additionally, PEI has requested that the court order Pudgy Penguins to eliminate any merchandise determined to be "likely to be confused" with PEI's registered trademarks and that the company be required to surrender all revenues generated from selling such merchandise.
Following the filing of the lawsuit, the official Pudgy Penguins X account published a meme that suggests there are no resemblances between its brand and Original Penguin.
Cointelegraph has reached out to Pudgy Penguins requesting a statement.