Hasbro wins copyright case against Wolfoo over Peppa Pig audio clips
A judge from the High Court in London has mandated the removal of all Wolfoo videos from various platforms, including YouTube, citing that the Vietnamese cartoon unlawfully appropriated audio from Peppa Pig. Justice Smith determined that the Wolfoo content frequently incorporated brief audio snippets of Peppa and her family exclaiming phrases like "hooray!" in a "long-standing" and "prolific" manner. This decision is effective in the UK, European Union, and all 166 member states of the World Trade Organisation, which includes the USA and Vietnam. In 2022, Hasbro, the rights holder for Peppa Pig, filed a lawsuit against SConnect, the creator of Wolfoo. SConnect countered that third-party contractors had used the clips without authorization and that videos made after mid-2020 featured original sounds, but the judge dismissed these arguments. Evidence revealed Peppa Pig audio in all 92 English-language Wolfoo videos analyzed, as well as in roughly 75% of those in other languages. Andrew Lee from Brandsmiths, representing Hasbro, described the ruling as a "significant judgment."
Key facts
- Judge ordered removal of all Wolfoo videos from YouTube and other platforms.
- Wolfoo is a Vietnamese animation about a young wolf with hundreds of millions of views.
- Hasbro owns Peppa Pig rights and sued SConnect for copyright infringement.
- Justice Smith ruled the copying of audio clips was 'prolific' and 'long-standing'.
- One Wolfoo YouTube channel has over 13 million subscribers.
- SConnect claimed third-party contractor used Peppa Pig audio without knowledge.
- Judge found infringing videos were moved to other channels and in-house sound claim disproved.
- Ruling applies to UK, EU, and all 166 WTO member states.
Entities
Institutions
- Hasbro
- SConnect
- Astley Baker Davies Ltd
- Brandsmiths
- BBC News
- YouTube
- World Trade Organisation
Locations
- London
- United Kingdom
- Vietnam
- European Union
- USA