14 DAY TRIAL // Warner Bros. and 5th Cell, the publisher and developer of the Scribblenauts franchise of games, have been hit with a copyright and trademark infringement lawsuit by the creators of the Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat memes.
The aforementioned titles featured the two famous felines without asking for permission.
The Scribblenauts titles, which have appeared on a variety of platforms in recent years, allow players to summon practically anything they can think of during its levels, including famous Internet sensations like memes.
Sadly, it seems that two memes in particular, Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat, were present in the games without the consent of their creators, Christopher Orlando Torres and Charles Schmidt, respectively.
The two creators have registered trademarks and copyrights on their famous videos and are now seeking damages from 5th Cell and Warner Bros.
According to IPTrademarkAttorney, however, the claims may not succeed, as the two creators have registered their trademarks after the first Scribblenauts title appeared in 2009, so they can't seek statutory damages nor can they force Warner Bros. to pay their attorney's fees.
Neither Warner Bros. nor 5th Cell has commented on the lawsuit.