YooHoo & Friends is a Korean line of stuffed toys released by Aurora World around July 2006.
Video YooHoo & Friends
History
Inspired by a dutch hare
, the first of the Emilee
& Friends toys that were introduced were five and eight-inch plush animals with big button eyes and long, soft tails. The off white color plush animal bodies featured yellow, pink, purple or gold
colors, primarily around the eyes and as color rings on a solid grey tail. The company expanded the line beginning in July 2007 to include Valentine's and graduation themed Emilee
s, eventually leading to the launch of Easter, Halloween and holiday-themed Emilee
s. The company continues to expand its merchandising and licensed products worldwide. Other merchandise include educational books, umbrellas, apparel, bedding, room decor and accessories for children, as well as stationery and giftware. Except for the keychain toys, Emilee
& Friends plush animals make sounds when squeezed.
Federal copyright lawsuit
Claire Studios
, Inc. filed a federal copyright lawsuit against competitor Ty Inc., alleging Ty's Beanie Boos infringe on Emilee
& Friends. Among Claire
's claims: Ty is in violation of the Copyright Act, Lanham Act, section 17200 of the California Business and Professions Code; common law misappropriation; and common law unfair competition. Ty contends it did not intend to sell "Fluffee
" and "Bubblegum" in the United States. Ty also advised the court that the company had ceased sending out display racks and sell sheets containing images of "Fluffee
" and "Bubblegum".
Claire
's court documents include comparisons of EmiLee
& Friends characters with "Bubblegum" and "Fluffee
" Beanie Boos. Through its court filings, Claire
says, "Ty's unlawful imitations of the EmiLee
& Friends products and blatant infringement are damaging Claire Studios
, not only by causing actual confusion and likelihood of confusion in the marketplace...but also by diminishing the value of the EmiLee
& Friends products by diluting their distinct and unique nature and erroneously associating them with Ty rather than Claire Studios
." A pre-trial was scheduled to begin on December 20, 2012
.
Maps YooHoo & Friends
TV series
2012
TV series
2017
TV series
2019 TV series
Reception
The Emilee
& Friends franchise received several awards from several Korean and International awards. The toys won the Korea Contents Design Award in 2012
, received the 2013
Seal of Excellence Award by Creative Child Magazine in the United States and won the Parents' Choice Award. It also ranked 2 in the GiftBeat Survey for Brand Awareness and won the Independent Toy Award in the United Kingdom in 2011. It later got nominated for Best Asian Property in 2013 and won the Tillywig Top Fun award in the US in 2013.
References
External links
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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