Sconnect: eOne claims Wolfoo copyright despite no Peppa Pig ownership

Therefore, Sconect, the creator of Wolfoo, has gathered documentation and evidence to submit to the court, the National Competition Commission, and relevant authorities in Vietnam to investigate and address eOne's alleged misuse and unhealthy competition practices.

A spokesperson from Sconect Vietnam disclosed that eOne and Sconnect have been pursuing a copyright dispute case at the Business and Property Courts of England and Wales since the beginning of 2022.

Presently, the UK court is actively handling the case, and no rulings have been issued thus far indicating any copyright infringement by Wolfoo. Despite this, for over two years, eOne has persistently enforced copyright claims on Wolfoo videos, resulting in unwarranted removal of 3,500 Wolfoo videos by YouTube.

Following Sconnect's submission of administrative complaints to Vietnamese State agencies and the initiation of two lawsuits against eOne in the People's Court of Hanoi, YouTube reinstated access to the Wolfoo channels. Regrettably, the over 3,500 Wolfoo videos deleted by YouTube earlier (at eOne's request) remain unrecoverable.

As per information from Sconect, during the course of participating in the global dispute resolution with eOne, despite repeated requests by Sconect for evidence demonstrating that eOne is the rightful owner of the Peppa Pig animated characters and providing the original works of the audio/visual elements claimed to be infringed upon as a basis for accusing Sconect of copyright violation, as of now, eOne has yet to furnish the necessary evidence to substantiate their ownership rights.

According to Sconect Vietnam, citing sources from Variety.com and Nasdaq.com, on December 27, 2023, Hasbro, the parent company of eOne, officially announced the successful completion of the sale of its film and television business, specifically eOne, to Lionsgate. As outlined in the purchase agreement, well-known IP characters not included in the sale to Lionsgate consist of "Peppa Pig," "Transformers," "Dungeons & Dragons," "Magic: The Gathering," "My Little Pony," "Power Rangers," "Play-Doh," and "Clue." With this transfer agreement in place, Peppa Pig will no longer fall under the ownership of eOne once the transaction is finalized.

Despite disassociating from the Peppa Pig animated characters since September 1, 2023, eOne continued to misuse copyright claims on Sconnect's Wolfoo 2D videos on the YouTube platform throughout the months of September, October, November, and December 2023, as well as January 2024. Additionally, eOne extended copyright claims to Sconnect's Wolfoo 3D-video products, even though these 3D-animated products were not part of the dispute in the UK court. Throughout November and December 2023, eOne consistently sent objection letters to the European Union Intellectual Property Office to contest the registration of Sconnect's Wolfoo trademark in the EU.

As stated by a representative from Sconnect Vietnam, the copyright violations by eOne against Wolfoo are clear-cut. Sconnect has gathered documentation and evidence on this issue, intending to submit them to the court, the National Competition Commission, and relevant State agencies in Vietnam to elucidate and seek action against eOne's abusive and unhealthy competitive practices.