Since the 70s, people have been able to drink “Pipi” in Croatia.
Now the soft drink is under threat after Astrid Lindgren AB sued the company behind the drink for trademark infringement.
– The risk of confusion is immediate given how close the words are, says chief legal officer Olle Nyman to Vimmerby Tidning.
A blonde girl with pipe pilots in her hair adorns the Croatian soft drink launched in the 1970s. The product has for a long time gone under the radar for Astrid Lindgren AB.
It was only when the company OSTRC applied for trademark registration for the name “Pipi” a few years ago that the Swedish company became aware of the drink. Now they have filed a lawsuit for trademark infringement.
– Even if the girl in their logo is not a copy of Pippi Longstocking, she is clearly inspired by Pippi, says Olle Nyman, chief legal officer at Astrid Lindgren AB, to Vimmerby Tidning.
“Obliged to act”
The company believes that soda is strongly associated with Pippi’s sugar drinking tree. The spelling “Pipi” has also been used when the books have been translated into Croatian.
– When someone uses the name Pippi in commercial contexts without our permission, and also connects it to Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking, we are obliged to act, says Olle Nyman to the newspaper.
Alludes to “sexiness”
The lawsuit also points out that the girl on the bottle’s label alludes to “sexiness”. Something that is foreign to Pippi Longstocking and can arouse negative associations, according to Astrid Lindgren AB.
They believe that the original has “completely different undertones” and want to ensure that no one is misled that there is a connection between Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi and the soft drink.
