Squishmallows maker sues Build-A-Bear as toy companies fight over kidult plushies
The cutest legal showdown… Kelly Toys is suing Build-A-Bear, accusing the teddy factory of copying its popular Squishmallows plushies. The toys on the hot seat: Build-A-Bear’s “Skoosherz” line, which debuted last month. The copyright-infringement lawsuit includes a side-by-side comparison of three Squishmallows and the first three Skoosherz, which Kelly Toys says customers are calling “cheap Squishmallow knockoffs” (you be the judge). Build-A-Bear countersued.
Plushularity: Squishmallows hit shelves in 2017 and went viral in 2020 as Squishfluencers showed off their collections on TikTok. The plushies were the US’s top-selling toy last year, and Kelly Toys said sales of its 3K+ varieties quadrupled in 2022.
Buffett bear: Kelly Toys is owned by Jazwares, which holding company Berkshire Hathaway acquired in 2022 for $12B. Fun fact: Squishmallows made a plushie of investing icon Warren Buffett.
When the Beanie Baby gen grows up… Toy execs at Jazwares, Build-A-Bear, Lego, and FAO Schwarz have said adults are driving sales by buying toys for themselves. Analysts said that from 2017 to 2022, toy sales for the 12+ market nearly doubled, spurred by pandemic spending. Toy cos have leaned in: Lego’s botanical line of buildable plants has been a hit (finally, a plant millennials can’t kill), and Build-A-Bear’s 18+ “After Dark” collection features plushies like * checks notes * a stuffed lion in a “Zaddy” shirt holding a martini.
Imitation is flattery… but Kelly Toys, which has also sued Ty and Alibaba over lookalike plushies, won’t take the compliment. Build-A-Bear argues that copyrighting “a pillow-type plush” in an “egg/bell shape” featuring “Asian style Kawaii faces” is too generic to be fair. Dupes of viral products are everywhere. Countless copycats of Stanley cups and Uniqlo shoulder bags test the bounds of copyright law (Uniqlo sued Shein anyway).