Wiggles copyright agreement reached on Yikerz! games
An agreement has been reached in the copyright infringement dispute that arose between The Wiggles management team, the Canadian manufacturer of the Yikerz! game, Wiggles 3D Incorporated, and its Queensland distributor Even Toys and Games, and West Australian distributor Active Toys.
The issue first came to light in December 2011 when Even Toys and Games founder David Peard and Martin Dyer of Active Toys received a letter from the Australian Customs Service notifying them that shipments of Yikerz! games had been seized for apparently violating The Wiggles trademark.
The Wiggles legal counsel, Peter Banki, said this is also when the group first became aware of the issue.
Banki said his client’s primary concern was that the games could be purchased by customers thinking they were authorised Wiggles product, intended for use by children aged three and under – The Wiggles’ core demographic.
The Yikerz! games are designed for players aged 14 and over, and contain small parts which according to documents filed in the Federal court on 17 January 2012, may pose a choking hazard if used by young children.
“The Wiggles regards all issues of product safety extremely seriously,” Banki said.
The terms of the agreement stipulate that all future products made by the Canadian company and sold in Australia not use packaging that might suggest any possible association with The Wiggles.
It further states that the company’s name, Wiggles 3D Incorporated, must be restricted to a maximum 12 point size font and cannot be differentiated by size, colour, bolding or italics.
The court has ordered that the seized shipments be released to Even Toys and Games and Active Toys to be repackaged for retail sale.
