Hasbro C&D

Mirror copypastad by Snowdenpony 10/30/2014 2:17AM EST

MLP Portal developer here, sorry to those (the small lot of you) who have been asking me to update the app, it's never going to happen (never bothered to start because I knew this would happen).
They finally found the Windows Phone Store and went on a DMCA spree, even though most of the art in these apps are fan-made (from dA or other).
Re: DMCA Notice of Infringement of Hasbro's MY LITTLE PONY® Copyrights and Trademarks
Dear Copyright Agent: We are counsel for Hasbro, Inc. and Hasbro Studios LLC (“Hasbro”), the owners of the copyrights and trademarks world-wide for the famous MY LITTLE PONY® (commonly referred to as “MLP”) line of toy ponies and related merchandise -- including online games and digital apps -- and cartoons, including the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC® (“FIM”) animated television series and the EQUESTRIA GIRLS® movie. Hasbro’s copyrights and trademarks also include character images and names, such as RAINBOW DASH®, PINKIE PIE®, TWILIGHT SPARKLE®, FLUTTERSHY®, APPLEJACK®, RARITY®, DJ PON, PRINCESS CELESTIA®, LUNA and others. The copyrighted work includes the MY LITTLE PONY "Rainbow Logo" and the “Heart Logo” (U.S. Reg. Nos. 3071421, 3978285).
A comprehensive list of Hasbro’s MY LITLLE PONY, FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC and related trademarks, including pony character names, is attached to this correspondence. For reference, Hasbro’s copyrighted work can be seen at the following URLs: http://www.hubworld.com/my-little-pony/shows/friendship-is-magic[1] ;
http://www.hasbro.com/mylittlepony/en_us/[2] ; and
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gameloft.android.ANMP.GloftPOHM&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS5nYW1lbG9mdC5hbmRyb2lkLkFOTVAuR2xvZnRQT0hNIl0[3] .
We recently became aware of a large number of unauthorized “MY LITTLE PONY” apps on Amazon that infringe Hasbro’s copyrights and/or trademark rights in its MY LITTLE PONY property. The specific apps, claims and URLs are set forth below: 1. App Name: “MY LITTLE PONY Puzzle” - In addition to the unauthorized use of the MY LITTLE PONY trademark as the app name, the pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in various MY LITTLE PONY pony characters, including FLUTTERSHY, RAINBOW DASH, APPLEJACK, RARITY, PINKIE PIE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE and others.
URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/my-little-pony-puzzle/04f1f992-397a-4932-9e8a-d4f4aca97218[4] 2. App Name: “Mylittlepony” - In addition to the unauthorized use of the MY LITTLE PONY trademark as the app name, the pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in various MY LITTLE PONY pony characters, including RARITY, FLUTTERSHY, RAINBOW DASH, APPLEJACK, PINKIE PIE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE and the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC show. The app also includes unauthorized clips of sound and dialogue from the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC show. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/es-es/store/app/mylittlepony/e9c0f6eb-9bc5-4d7f-b329-8b975b5641db[5] 3. App Name: “MY LITTLE PONY MEMORY” - In addition to the unauthorized use of the MY LITTLE PONY trademark as the app name, the pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in various MY LITTLE PONY pony characters, including TWILIGHT SPARKLE, FLUTTERSHY, RAINBOW DASH, APPLEJACK, RARITY, PINKIE PIE, and others, as well as background art from the show. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/my-little-pony-memory/32a96323-18a6-4d35-88cd-0229558816ca[6] 4. App Name: “MY PONY Race” - The pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in various MY LITTLE PONY pony characters, including the TWILIGHT SPARKLE pony character. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/my-pony-race/cdceeee6-9f6f-4cbf-9c49-24d374ca04e3[7]
5. App Name: “MY LITTLE PONY Fan” - In addition to the unauthorized use of the MY LITTLE PONY trademark in the app name, the icon includes images of the trademarked MY LITTLE PONY Rainbow logo, and appears to consist of downloadable songs, pictures and videos from the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC animated series and Hasbro’s EQUESTRIA GIRLS movie. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/de-de/store/app/my-little-pony-fan/c804344c-e78f-4a22-b5eb-5fcb0b7d0cdf[8] 6. App Name: “MY LITTLE PONY Addict” - In addition to the unauthorized use of the MY LITTLE PONY trademark in the app name, the icon consists of the trademarked MY LITTLE PONY Rainbow logo and pony artwork directly copied from Hasbro’s various MY LITTLE PONY pony characters, including TWILIGHT SPARKLE, FLUTTERSHY, RAINBOW DASH, APPLEJACK, RARITY, PINKIE PIE. The app consists of photos from and episodes of the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC animated series. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/de-de/store/app/my-little-pony-addict/2303e481-019a-4be4-b65f-b19a3e54ee4b[9] 7. App Name: “Flappy Little Pony” – The pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in the MY LITTLE PONY RAINBOW DASH pony characters. URL:http://www.windowsphone.com/en-ca/store/app/flappy-little-pony/d2ecdae1-c3a6-4687-9bb7-b15529e77d12[10]
App Name: “My Little Shooter” – The pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in the MY LITTLE PONY RAINBOW DASH pony characters. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/my-little-shooter/2a7bf17d-ee00-4f9e-adef-562f46296f8b[11]
App Name: “Pony Paint” – The icon copies the MY LITTLE PONY Rainbow logo and the PINKIE PIE pony character, and the pony artwork in the app itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in various MY LITTLE PONY pony characters, including RAINBOW DASH, APPLEJACK, RARITY, FLUTTERSHY, PINKIE PIE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE and others.
URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/pony-paint/bfe2d9e8-c772-492f-9546-c5d879a137f6[12] 10. App Name: “MLP Ringtones” – In addition to the unauthorized use of Hasbro’s MY LITTLE PONY and MLP trademarks, the pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in the MY LITTLE PONY PINKIE PIE pony character. As the app description itself admits - “My Little Pony Ringtones contains carefully handpicked tracks from the MLP: FiM series that will make your ringtones 20% cooler, or more!” -- all used without authorization or permission and in violation of Hasbro’s copyrights and trademarks. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/mlp-ringtones/d7d20a5d-ac6f-4351-8457-c72803c64acf[13] 11. App Name: “My Little Soundboard” – The icon copies the TWILIGHT SPARKLE pony character, and the pony artwork in the app itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in various MY LITTLE PONY pony characters, including RAINBOW DASH, APPLEJACK, RARITY, FLUTTERSHY, PINKIE PIE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE and others. The app also includes clips, quotes and sounds copied from the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC series. The developer admits it has no ownership of the content: “100% free and 100% fun, enjoy hundreds of quotes from your favorite equestrian cartoon, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Contains 350 quotes and sounds, ranging over 34 different characters. Contains sounds from the Season 2 premiere as well. This is the best and only MLP soundboard on the Windows Phone Marketplace. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic property of Hasbro, Inc. App developer claims no property or ownership of soundbites, names or icon artwork.” URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/my-little-soundboard/c28392f8-e277-4850-865c-42288fb441c5[14] 12. App Name: “Pony Wallpaper” – The pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in various MY LITTLE PONY pony characters, including RAINBOW DASH, APPLEJACK, RARITY, FLUTTERSHY, PINKIE PIE, TWILIGHT SPARKLE and others.
URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/pony-wallpaper/313d6d5b-27b4-4cee-a96e-1e8bfa0ac4c8[15] 13. App Name: “Pony Wings” - The pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in the SCOOTALOO MY LITTLE PONY pony character.
                    URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/pony-wings/77a07961-23fd-45fa-8d4c-53f53959ea3a
App Name: “Eeyup” – The pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in the BIG MAC MY LITTLE PONY pony character. The developer admits that the “Big Macintosh character and sound comes from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Hasbro Studios.”
URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/eeyup/ec5d446b-2b8e-e011-986b-78e7d1fa76f8[16] 15. App Name: “My Little Pony Trivia” – App name infringes MY LITTLE PONY trademark, and app itself consists solely of copyrighted content from the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC animated series. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/mlp-trivia/6663e0a9-dad3-4f44-8af5-ca3e1d503118[17] 16. App Name: “My Little Pony Quiz” - App name infringes MY LITTLE PONY trademark. The artwork in the icon is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in the TWILIGHT SPARKLE and SPIKE THE DRAGON characters and the app itself consists solely of copyrighted content from the FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC animated series including pony characters, artwork, and other creative content. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/my-little-pony-quiz/3973fb93-fdd5-4a22-b6f5-00f071bfac04[18] 17. App Name: “MLP Defence” –The pony artwork in the icon and in the game itself is directly copied from and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in the RAINBOW DASH pony character and, as the app developer admits: “All rights of MLP are reserved by Hasbro, Inc. and I'm not owner of any rights or contents from MLP !” URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/mlpdefence/9a3ce5ed-d8b2-47c7-8034-7e996163cd61[19] 18. App Name: “MLP FIM: Characters” – The pony artwork in the icon and in the app itself is directly copied from the and infringes Hasbro’s copyrights in various MY LITTLE PONY pony characters, including TWILIGHT SPARKLE, RAINBOW DASH, APPLEJACK, RARITY, FLUTTERSHY, PINKIE PIE, and others.
URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/mlp-fim-characters/c747761f-ce30-4d6c-afe8-c735ce350431[20] 19. App Name: “My Little Pony Portal” –- In addition to the unauthorized use of the MY LITTLE PONY trademark in the app name, the icon consists of a stylized version of the RAINBOW DASH pony character. The RAINBOW DASH character and the MY LITTLE PONY Rainbow logo also appear throughout the app. URL: http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/store/app/my-little-pony-portal/00ccb084-c9dc-4019-ab7b-eb0ace1e3a5c[21] We have a good faith belief that the apps identified above infringes Hasbro’s MY LITTLE PONY copyrights and trademarks and are not authorized by Hasbro, its agents, or the law. We are authorized to act on Hasbro’s behalf regarding these matters. The information provided in this communication is accurate to the best of my knowledge and is provided under penalty of perjury. On behalf of Hasbro, we therefore request that you immediately remove or disable access to the apps identified above. Thank you for your assistance in this matter. This letter does not purport to be a complete statement of the facts or the law and is without prejudice to Hasbro’s legal and equitable rights. Sincerely yours,
Carin G. Reynolds
GOLENBOCK EISEMAN ASSOR BELL & PESKOE LLP
www.golenbock.com[22]
T (212) 907-7321 F (212) 754-0330 E-mail creynolds@golenbock.com 437 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022