Vietnam's Wolfoo ordered to remove all videos after losing lawsuit to Peppa Pig

Vietnam's popular animated series "Wolfoo" has been ordered by a London High Court to remove all related videos for allegedly illegally copying audio from the British national character "Peppa Pig." This ruling highlights the challenges of copyright protection and international competitiveness for Vietnam's content industry. "Wolfoo," produced by Sconnect Vietnam, is a story about a wolf cub living with his family, which has garnered hundreds of millions of views on platforms like YouTube. However, Sconnect was sued by Hasbro, the entertainment giant that owns the copyright to "Peppa Pig," for infringing on its rights. Judge Smith of the London High Court ruled that short audio clips from "Peppa Pig" and its family characters, including phrases like "hooray!," were used extensively and over a long period in "Wolfoo" videos. The judge stated that this audio copying was "compelling" and ordered the removal of all "Wolfoo" related videos by 4 PM UK time on August 3rd. Sconnect Vietnam denied copyright infringement but admitted that some videos produced before mid-2020 contained "Peppa Pig" audio, claiming it was due to a third-party subcontractor using the audio without their knowledge. The company also stated that videos produced after mid-2020 exclusively use audio created by Sconnect. However, the judge dismissed the claim of third-party audio provision as "irrelevant." He further noted that while many infringing videos were removed from some channels, others were simply transferred to different channels, and the assertion that all new audio was recorded internally "could be refuted." The lawsuit began in 2022 when Hasbro and Astley Baker Davies Ltd, the creators of "Peppa Pig," sued Sconnect in London. While the plaintiffs initially complained about "Wolfoo's" character design and visuals, the focus of the lawsuit shifted to audio, as proving audio copying was considered easier. Andrew Lee, partner and head of intellectual property at law firm Brandsmiths, representing Hasbro, told BBC News that this is "an important judgment." He noted the significant impact on the "Peppa Pig" brand, which is present in hundreds of countries, given the scale of "Wolfoo." He explained that by bringing the case to a UK court where they operate, and because the defendants conduct business in the UK despite being based in Vietnam, they were able to persuade the court to consider the case more broadly. This strategy aimed to protect the "Peppa Pig" brand through a single legal forum, rather than filing individual lawsuits in each country. Sconnect Vietnam entered the field of children's animation production in 2014 and launched "Wolfoo" in 2018. The series was released in English and dubbed into many languages, including Arabic, Chinese, French, and Spanish. This ruling underscores the importance of copyright management for Vietnam's digital content industry as it navigates the international market. Source: BBC Vietnamese