ZURU Files Third Lawsuit against Telebrands for Bunch O Balloons Patent Infringement
ZURU continues to aggressively pursue and bar copycat products from
U.S. market
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Leading international toy and consumer products company, ZURU™, has
filed a new lawsuit against Telebrands, one of the largest U.S.
telemarketing companies, with the United States District Court for the
Eastern District of Texas to protect the Company’s award-winning Bunch O
Balloons product from patent infringement.
The complaint requests the Court to issue an order restraining
Telebrands from continued sales of “Easy Einstein Balloons,” a copy of
the acclaimed Bunch O Balloons product invented and brought to market by
Josh Malone and ZURU in 2014. The litigation is based on the copy
product infringing on at least four of the U.S. patents (Patent Nos.
9,242,749, 9,315,282, 9,527,612, and 9,533,779) that protect the Bunch O
Balloons product. The U.S. retailer Bed Bath and Beyond, who had begun
stocking the Easy Einstein product, has also been included in the suit.
ZURU has seen international success since the launch of the original
Bunch O Balloons product, shipping more than 2.3 Billion individual
balloons last year worldwide and winning the 2017 Outdoor Toy of the
Year in the U.S., the 2016 Australian Toy of The Year and the 2016
Nuremburg Toy Award. The lawsuit against Telebrands states that the
Company has been attempting to market competing products to benefit from
the success of Bunch O Balloons. ZURU has obtained two previous
preliminary injunctions against Telebrands to bar U.S. sales of their
“Battle Balloons” and “Balloon Bonanza” products.
In addition to infringing on the Bunch O Balloons patent, laboratory
testing on samples of the Easy Einsteins product purchased from retail
stores in Texas and Virginia showed the presence of toxic chemicals in
concentrations significantly exceeding the U.S. legal limits for such
chemicals in children’s toys. Following an emergency hearing on whether
Telebrands should be immediately restrained from product sales, the
United States District Judge’s Order stated it had been presented to the
Court “that Telebrands has ceased all shipments of Easy Einstein
Balloons and has contacted all of its retailers with instructions to
take the product off the shelf.”
Anna Mowbray, ZURU’s Chief Operating Officer, asserts, “ZURU works
diligently to monitor the quality of and bring innovation to market in
all of its products. We are committed to vigorously fighting knock-off
companies who try to undercut inventors and bring lesser quality goods,
which are clearly in breach of IP, to consumers. I am confident we will
prevail with the U.S. legal system in this dispute.”
About ZURU Toys
ZURU is a disruptive and award-winning company that designs, develops,
manufactures and markets innovative toys and consumer products. Inspired
by kids and imaginative play, ZURU is one of the fastest growing toy
companies in the U.S. and is known for their agility, creativity and
new-age manufacturing techniques. The company has flourished from it
small beginnings in Cambridge, New Zealand and now employs more than 400
staff, has 10 offices worldwide, owns multiple factories and supplies
most major retailers in 121 countries. ZURU has delighted millions of
families all over the world through partnerships with entertainment
properties such as Nickelodeon, Disney, Universal Studios and DreamWorks
as well as successfully building their own global brands including Bunch
O Balloons™, X-Shot™, Robo Alive™, Micro Boats™ and Hamsters in a
House™. ZURU strives to create a standard of excellence in its product
engineering, marketing and distribution practices and seeks to reimagine
play, every day. www.ZURU.com
Contacts
Ren Beanie Public Relations for ZURU
Anne-Marie Grill, 818-357-3696
anne-marie@renbeanie.com
