Woman resolves legal dispute concerning short videos showcasing Sylvanian Families toys, produced by an Irish individual.
In a recent development, intellectual property law expert Professor Eric Goldman suggested that Epoch, the Japanese toy and video game company that owns the Sylvanian Families brand, may have sued social media influencer Thea von Engelbrechten in New York to enforce a judgment against US services like Instagram.
The legal case, filed in the southern district of New York in April 2022, was over soap-opera style dramatisations made by Thea von Engelbrechten using Sylvanian Families toy figures. Thea von Engelbrechten gained a huge following online for her popular dramatisations featuring Sylvanian Families characters since 2021.
Epoch Company claimed that von Engelbrechten's videos had caused "irreparable injury" to the brand's reputation. Von Engelbrechten, based in Co Kildare, Ireland, and with 3.5 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, argued her videos were parody and transformative use protected under fair use. She has secured major brand deals with companies such as Burberry, Netflix, Hilton Group, and Marc Jacobs.
Before the settlement, Epoch and von Engelbrechten were actively negotiating to resolve the dispute. A notice of voluntary dismissal usually indicates a settlement, which is what Professor Goldman expected in this instance. The details of the settlement have not been disclosed.
As part of the settlement, the SylvanianDrama Instagram account, which von Engelbrechten used to post her videos, announced a change in the account's name and picture on August 19, 2022. This suggests a planned rebranding to presumably address Epoch’s trademark concerns.
Thea von Engelbrechten's videos reached viral status, with some getting tens of millions of views. Many of her storylines dealt with darker themes such as domestic abuse, drug and alcohol addiction, and self-harm. The legal case highlights the ongoing debate about the boundaries of fair use and the rights of creators in the digital age.
- Thea von Engelbrechten, known for her Sylvanian Families character dramatizations on social media and partnerships with entertainment giants like Netflix and Marc Jacobs, has made a change to her SylvanianDrama Instagram account in a likely rebranding effort post-settlement with Epoch, the Sylvanian Families brand owners.
- The ongoing legal battle between Epoch and Thea von Engelbrechten, which originally centered around soap-opera style dramatisations made using toy figures from the Sylvanian Families brand on movies-and-tv platforms (such as Instagram), has brought to light the ongoing debate about fair use and creator rights in the digital age.
