The former owners of Peppa Pig have won a copyright battle against the creators of the animated character Wolfoo, with a judge ordering the removal of all videos featuring Wolfoo from YouTube. Entertainment One and Astley Baker Davies Ltd, the original creators of Peppa Pig, initiated legal action in London in 2022.
The core of the legal challenge, as described by the judge, was that SConnect, the company behind Wolfoo, allegedly attempted "to deceive the young Wolfoo viewership, most aged between two and five, into believing that Wolfoo is the same character as Peppa Pig" or connected to the popular British pig character. While initial complaints focused on Wolfoo's appearance and artwork, the case primarily centered on the audio, which the plaintiffs believed would be easier to prove as copied.
The judge found the evidence of audio copying to be "compelling" and "extensive, seemingly endemic at least so far as the English language Wolfoo videos are concerned." Clips from Peppa Pig were identified in all 92 English-language Wolfoo videos examined, and in approximately 75% of foreign-language videos.
SConnect had argued that an independent third-party contractor supplied sounds from Peppa Pig for use in Wolfoo videos without their knowledge and stated that all infringing videos were removed. They also claimed that new Wolfoo animations produced after mid-2020 utilized exclusively in-house created voices and sounds.
However, the judge dismissed the third-party contractor argument as "irrelevant." The ruling also noted that while many infringing videos were taken down, some were merely moved to different channels. Furthermore, the assertion that all new sounds were recorded in-house was deemed disprovable. The court has mandated that all videos featuring Wolfoo must be removed by 4:00 PM BST on Monday.