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IT WON’T PUT a smile on her notoriously pouty face but Grumpy Cat, the feline who became an internet meme and a hugely lucrative brand, has just won $710,000 (€571,866) in court.
The famously moody-looking cat was at the centre of a copyright infringement case in a California federal court which culminated with the jury ruling in favour of her human pet Tabatha Bundesen.
The dispute was sparked by a deal signed between Granade Beverage and Bundesen over the use of Grumpy Cat [real name Tardar Sauce] in a line of iced coffee drinks.
The five-year-old web sensation featured in a range of Granade’s drinks – dubbed “Grumpiccionos”.
But Bundesen’s company Grumpy Cat Ltd argued that the drinks firm had gone beyond their contract by using the cat’s face on a host of unauthorised products including ground coffee.
A court document obtained by AFP Wednesday showed the jury sided with Bundesen, awarding her $710,001.
“We asked the jury what they thought was right and they came to the right conclusion,” Grumpy Cat’s lawyer David Jonelis, told AFP, adding he believed it was the first time an internet meme had won a victory in court.
Grumpy Cat inadvertently went global in 2012 when Bundesen’s brother posted a picture on Reddit of the moggy sporting its now ubiquitous angry-looking face – caused by a pronounced underbite.
She quickly went viral, spawning reams of “lolcat” memes.
Internet fame soon turned into hard cash as Grumpy Cat became a celebrity in her own right, making cameos in films and TV shows, appearing at Comicon and red carpet premieres and featuring in a host of lucrative merchandise deals.
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If only Leo could monetize his image as the immature taoiseach, that would sort out his 100% mortgage!
@Adrian: Give it a rest. Totally unrelated.
@Adrian: your comment stinks of desperation
@Adrian: Seriously? I mean, really?
@Cian O Donoghue: A pic of leo with his novelty socks or best taoiseach mug at davos. Or leo playing some game on his smartphone at Davos!
@Skimothy: I think the left feel threatened by Leo.
@Tony Dowling: No, just amusing. Who thinks he needs a multimillion euro political spin unit in this era of fake news!
@Adrian: so amusing that you feel you need to post about leo on every article no matter how unrelated… hmm
@Adrian: an é seo mar go bhfuil sé aerach?
Purrfect or Cat astrophic result depending on your point of view.
@David Huston: Jaysis
@David Huston: I did think about rushing out to adopt a grumpy featured cat but the look of disgust my dog gave me stopped me in my tracks. Lol.
@Gillian Scully: Take a pic of “disgusted dog”.. You never know he might go viral.
The cat who got the cream.
@sean byrne: Meooowww-was it a feral court.
@sean byrne: sour cream by the looks of it
What a time to be alive
@Marty Gormley: if you’re the owner of grumpy cat.
Bet you she’ll still be grumpy! There’s no pleasing some felines.
@Joe Phillips: when you say help, I’m sure you mean be an unrelenting pedant who can’t appreciate a joke.
@Sean Gallagher: That’s exactly what I mean. Hilarious joke by the way
@Joe Phillips: I should’ve really read who replied to that. This is embarrassing
@Matt Donovan: Veronica won’t like it-nice pussy though.!
Bit harsh deleting my first reply. It was just a bit of banter ffs. Nothing offensive about it
@Matt Donovan: looks like Joan Burton
That Darn Cat.
@Brendan Mason: A wealthy cat.
Someone’s going to be grumpy with that decision.
Sweet suffering Jesus!
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