A Seattle artist claims that she invented the Angry Birds IP years before Rovio launched the first in its popular bird-flinging video game series, and now she’s looking for compensation. In a complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington this week, Juli Adams says that she entered into an agreement with pet toy manufacturer Hartz Mountain Corporation back in 2006 over the brand. Hartz allegedly asked Adams to design a pet toy line, and she came up with Angry Birds, a line of plush toys for cats. The alleged agreement stated that there would be “no transfer of ownership,” claims Adams, and thus she would keep ownership of the IP. However, Adams claims (although it’s unclear with what evidence) that Hartz then went on to license the Angry Birds IP to Rovio, and then “dumped” Adams and began making toys based on Rovio’s vision of Angry Birds, without Adams’ permission and without paying royalties to her. Adams’ suit states that her last royalty payment from Hartz with regards to the Angry Birds IP was in 2011 for $40.66. She alleges that she only recently fully understood the situation. “I assumed they were right. I didn’t put two and two together until later,” she states. “It made me feel helpless. Here I am up against a big company. It was scary and unnerving.” You can read the full complaint below.
Complaint filed by Juli Adams over Angry Birds IP