Nyan Cat and Keyboard Cat creators sue 'Scribblenauts' studio for using their memes
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The owners of two of the internet's best-known cat memes are striking back at Scribblenauts for using them without permission. Charles Schmidt and Christopher Orlando Torres have sued Warner Brothers for copyright and trademark infringement, based on images of Nyan Cat (created by Torres) and Keyboard Cat (created by Schmidt) that appear in the game. After both cats achieved fame years ago, Torres and Schmidt have parlayed them into an ongoing career under the management of "meme agent" Ben Lashes. Since then, they've had to confront the strange tension that comes from trying to own and license something that grew through sharing and appropriation.
The issue in question is a pair of Scribblenauts Easter eggs showing the two cats. In several Scribblenauts games, typing "Keyboard Cat" will call up an image of a cat in a blue shirt with a keyboard, while typing "Nyan Cat" in the 2012 title Scribblenauts Unlimited will bring up the familiar gray cat with a Pop-Tart body. Both memes have registered copyrights, with trademark applications pending, something that Schmidt and Torres argue makes using them in Scribblenauts no different to ripping off a Warner Brothers character for another game. "The 'WB' logo also is a meme," a court filing reads, "even though it is only two letters inside the outline of a shield. Of course, WB employs an army of lawyers who use trademark and copyright law to zealously protect its intellectual property."
http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/2/4293484/nyan-cat-keyboard-cat-creators-sue-scribblenauts-over-easter-eggs