A popular account on TikTok and Instagram stopped posting suddenly at the end of last year, hit by a lawsuit after garnering millions of views on funny videos using adorable Calico Critter dolls made for preschoolers to act out dark, cringe-y adult storylines.
While millions of followers mourn the so-called "Sylvanian Drama" account's demise, experts told Ars that the creator may have a decent chance at beating the lawsuit.
The "Sylvanian Drama" account derived its name from "Sylvanian Families," a brand name used by Epoch Company Ltd., the maker of Calico Critters, for its iconic fuzzy animal dolls in some markets outside the US. Despite these videos referencing murder, drugs, and hookups, seemingly the toy company had no problem, until the account, managed by Ireland-based Thea Von Engelbrechten, started accepting big brand partnerships and making sponsored content featuring the dolls.
Since Epoch, too, strikes partnerships with brands and influencers to promote its own videos marketing the dolls, the company claimed "Sylvanian Drama" risked creating too much confusion online. They also worried viewers would think Epoch had signed off on the videos, since the sponsored content was marked "paid partnership" without specifying precisely which brands featured had paid for the spots. They further accused Von Engelbrechten of building her advertising business around their brand without any attempt to properly license the dolls, while allegedly usurping licensing opportunities from Epoch.
So far, Von Engelbrechten has delayed responding in the lawsuit. As the account remained inactive over the past few months, fans speculated whether it could survive the lawsuit, which raised copyright and trademark infringement claims to get all the videos removed. In their complaint, the toy company requested not only an injunction preventing Von Engelbrechten from creating more "Sylvanian Drama" videos, but also sought all of her profits from her online accounts, in addition to further damages.