We advised Moomin Characters Oy Ltd, a company established by Finnish writer and illustrator Tove Jansson and currently responsible for Moomin copyright and trademark protection. Tove Jansson created most of the Moominvalley characters in her books in 1945-1946 (such as The Moomins and the Great Flood and Comet in Moominland). Some of the characters are:
A legal and commercial issue arose from unauthorised usage of Moomin characters by a local infringer, who used them in the manufacture of hand-made toys which they then sold in Belarus and abroad. Our team assessed the circumstances and helped the client develop a strategy to tackle the infringement. We prepared a ‘cease and desist’ letter and arranged for signing an undertaking to prevent future usage of the client’s IP rights by the infringer. We relied on the first editions of books about Moomins and various copyright registration certificates to prove the copyright and to establish a solid legal position. As a result, the case was settled amicably at the stage of pre-trial proceedings.
Senior associate Marina Golovnitskaya and associate Yauheni Budchanka were responsible for this project.
