Along with the iconic scar on his face, G.I. Joe also had another secret intended to protect against copyright infringement, and it was this secret that caught out the Mego Corp’s “Fighting Yank”
In 1966 Hassenfeld Bros (Hasbro’s predecessor), sued Mego Corp. for the alleged copyright infringement of G.I. JOE.
The sole issue before the court was whether Hassenfeld was entitled to injunctive relief because of the defendant’s activities in selling and promoting an alleged piratical copy of G.I. JOE, called “FIGHTING YANK.”
Hassenfeld owned a valid and subsisting copyright in G.I. JOE, evidenced by Certificate of Registration No. GP 41527.
The court found that both toys were military figures, approximately eleven inches in height, with removable clothing and accessories. The court further found that G.I. JOE was the culmination of considerable effort in design which resulted in the sale of more than seven million figures after its introduction in 1964. The court noted that FIGHTING YANK and G.I. JOE shared similar clothing, accessories and respective packaging.
Specifically, the court found features similar between the figures’ heads, torsos, legs, hands, arms and other extremities. The most significant similarity in the court’s view was a uniquely placed right thumbnail which both G.I. JOE and the FIGHTING YANK possessed. The thumbnail was positioned on the inside of the thumb, and the court found that this anatomically incorrect thumbnail could not have been the result of independent creation, but was in all likelihood the result of copying.
The court concluded that Hassenfeld was entitled to injunctive relief preventing Mego from marketing its product because Hassenfeld would likely be able to substantiate its claim of copyright infringement. Furthermore, the court held that Mego’s conduct caused and would continue to cause irreparable damage to Hassenfeld.
Lastly, the court held that Hassenfeld would likely be able to prove a substantial similarity between the plaintiffs copyrighted work and the defendant’s alleged copy at trial.
GI Joe’s unique Thumbnail had saved the day.
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