By Blake Brittain
(Reuters) -Jazwares, the Berkshire Hathaway-owned maker of Squishmallows, has agreed to end a lawsuit against Build-A-Bear Workshop over its alleged knockoffs of the popular plush toys, according to a filing in Los Angeles federal court.
Jazwares and Build-A-Bear asked the court on Friday to dismiss their dispute with prejudice, which means it cannot be refiled. Attorneys and spokespeople for the companies did not immediately respond on Monday to requests for comment, including on the terms of any settlement.
Jazwares’ Squishmallows, launched in 2017, went viral on TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales of the toys topped $1 billion in 2021, and Warren Buffett’s Berkshire bought Jazwares’ parent company in 2022.
Jazwares sued Build-A-Bear in California last year, arguing that Build-A-Bear’s Skoosherz copied Squishmallows’ look and feel and would create consumer confusion. It asked the court for an unspecified amount of monetary damages.
Build-A-Bear responded with counterclaims that Skoosherz were a kind of “soft, pillow-like squishie-type” toy that has been trending for years, and that Jazwares lacked trademark rights in its Squishmallows design.
U.S. District Judge Josephine Staton rejected Build-A-Bear’s request to dismiss the lawsuit last year, finding that Skoosherz were similar enough to Squishmallows to let the case move forward.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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