Toys ‘R’ Us says famed brand in complaint alleging rip-off

Bloomberg

Shoppers at the Garden State Plaza mall in Paramus, New
Jersey, might feel a touch of déjà vu on entering a store called Toys & Beyond.
The signs have a bubble font with different-coloured letters. A cash register display says “Let’s Play.” On the stairwell of an indoor treehouse are sentiments such as “I don’t want to grow up.” All those features belong to Tru Kids Inc, which acquired the intellectual property of the once-mighty Toys ‘R’ Us brand during its 2018 liquidation, according to a lawsuit it filed last week in federal court in Newark. In the complaint, Tru Kids says Toys & Beyond “is now operating retail toy stores in identical locations at identical malls” where Toys ‘R’ Us and its iconic giraffe once greeted customers.
Toys & Beyond wants to “confuse the average toy consumer,” says Tru Kids, which calls the storefront “a blatant and obvious bad-faith effort to trade on the significant goodwill and fame that Toys ‘R’ Us has developed over decades and with tens of millions of dollars” of investment. WHP Global in March announced it would take a controlling stake in Tru Kids, which was started by a former Toys ‘R’ Us executive to revive the brand and has been owned by investment funds including Solus Alternative Asset Management.
Among the panoply of bald rip-offs Tru Kids alleges, “Let’s Play” was pulled straight from the Toys ‘R’ Us registered C’mon, Let’s Play mark, it claims.
It also accuses Toys & Beyond of violating its trademarks for Geoffrey’s Tree House, Geoffrey’s Magical Mirror, Play-a-Round Theater and the familiar jingle “I don’t wanna grow up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us kid.”
Tru Kids accuses the company of infringing and diluting its trademarks and engaging in
unfair competition. It’s seeking
a court order forcing Toys &
Beyond to hand over all profits made during the period of
alleged infringement, along with a royalty.