[Guest Post] Sylvanian Family Drama

The IPKat is pleased to host the following guest post by Katfriend Daphne Singer regarding a recently issued claim in New York. Here’s what Daphne writes:

Sylvanian Family Drama

By Daphne Singer

A new lawsuit has been issued in New York by the owner of the SYLVANIAN FAMILIES doll brand, claiming copyright and trademark infringement against an Irish content creator who operates TikTok and Instagram accounts using the handle “@SylvanianDrama”. 

Background

Epoch Company, Ltd. (Epoch), a Japanese toy company, launched its  anthropomorphic animal toys in 1985 in Japan as Sylvanian Families and in 1993 in the United States. They are promoted on the Calico Critter’s Youtube page, where they all wear official Calico Critters attire, with official Calico Critters accessories. Epoch owns 26 copyrights in the Calico Critters dolls, dollhouses and furniture in the United States as well as three trademark registrations. Further, Epoch common law trade dress rights over the non-registered Calico Critters.

Thea Von Engelbrechten is an Irish content creator, whose accounts have achieved broad social media success, especially on TikTok and Instagram: the @SylvanianDrama Instagram account has 1 million followers, and the @SylvanianDrama TikTok account has 2.5 million followers. The profile image for Von Engelbrechten’s TikTok account is an image Epoch claims is copyrighted. Epoch claims this social media success is due to the fame of the Calico Critter brand, not Von Engelbrechten’s content.

On @SylvanianDrama, Von Engelbrechten posts long narratives featuring the Sylvanian Families animals as actors in original skits and mimicking imagined moments from television dramas (Drake and Josh, several episodes of the Crown), often set over viral music. In these narratives, Von Engelbrechten’s Calico Critters are customized with unauthorized outfits, fake injuries, and false eyelashes. 

@SylvanianDrama has collaborated on advertising campaigns and IP licensing deals with Kate Spade, Marc Jacobs, Burberry, Netflix, Hilton, Taco Bell, Urban Outfitters, Supergoop, Asos, Sephora, Away, and many others, with the products used and depicted in the skits by the customized Calico Critters. Epoch’s Calico Critters have collaborated on advertising campaigns and IP licensing deals with Jill Stuart, Sanrio, Feiler and Ladurée. 

Sylvanian Kat Drama

Claim

In October 2023, Epoch served a takedown notice on TikTok under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), requesting that it remove allegedly infringing content from the @SylvanianDrama account. 

Epoch then filed the present claim [Docket No. 1:25-cv-02871] in the Southern District of New York (the Court) on April 7, 2025. claiming copyright infringement, trademark infringement and irreparable injury due to usurped licensing opportunities

The Court granted Von Engelbrechten an extension of time to respond to 8 August 2025. 

Despite Epoch’s claim that Von Engelbrechten’s intention was to co-opt licensing opportunities from Epoch through her channel, Von Engelbrechten had stated it was “boredom” that led the then 19 year old university student to gather her childhood dolls and mother’s fabric collection to tell stories on TikTok. However, Von Engelbrechten has stated the collaboration videos are advertisements. 

Epoch cites in its complaint that Von Engelbrechten “has not stated in any of the interviews that she creates the Infringing Videos as parodies” and that the “Infringing Works do not comment on or criticize Epoch or the Calico Critters”. However, in the interview cited  Von Engelbrechten describes her humor and the juxtaposition of using a toy she had previously stated she had heavily played with as a child to write and direct stories with adult themes. 

Takeaways

Epoch only cited a single instance of a DMCA takedown attempt on TikTok in 2023. Von Engelbrechten has consistently used her customized Calico Critters in videos, brand deals, her profile picture and the name of her account (the “Sylvanian” in “SylvanianDrama”). Epoch’s delay in enforcing their intellectual property rights could lead to a fair claim of a weakening of the mark. Further, the screenshots of the comments under the @SylvanianDrama videos show commenters do not refer to Epoch’s brand but “Sylvanian Drama” as a separate entity—either due to the distinctive visuals of the transformed dolls or content, a potential argument against actual consumer confusion. 

Additionally, the @SylvanianDrama videos, which are either original telenovela style episodes with running jokes and dark plotlines, or comedic interpretations of television shows and movie tropes, may not constitute copyright infringement under a defense of 17 U.S.C. § 107’s first fair use factor, “purpose and the character of the use”, which allows for transformative uses, such as parodies, even if that work is commercial. See Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 510 U.S. 569 (1994).