It is not easy having an Amazon Store. When you get winning products, everybody notices. The Reversible Octopus Plushie that flips from sad to happy has become an instant hit on Amazon. With success comes competition but outright counterfeiting can be frustrating. TeeTurtle CEO, Ramy Badie, took matters into his own hands to protect his Reversible Octopus Plushie creation. Badie filed suits against all counterfeiters.
The sought-after toy, invented by TeeTurtle CEO, Ramy Badie, is a plushie octopus that can flip from being happy one moment to sad the next. Demand for the Reversible Octopus Plushie exploded in 2020 after it was featured in several TikTok videos that went viral. Since then, kids and adults alike have wanted to get their hands on the plushie, making it the #1 Best Selling Toy and Game on Amazon.com for virtually all of 2021. TeeTurtle is also working with national retailers and distributors that also plan to stock their shelves and warehouses with the toy.
“As with many products that achieve enormous commercial success, TeeTurtle’s Reversible Octopus Plushie has caught the attention of copyists and counterfeiters. Unscrupulous copycats are trying to capitalize on this craze by infringing on TeeTurtle’s copyrights, trade dress, and design patents,” says J. Michael Keyes, one of the nation’s preeminent trial attorneys from the international law firm Dorsey & Whitney, who is representing TeeTurtle in the lawsuit.
“The knockoff products are of poor quality, as they are often hastily sewn together, lack fill material, and don’t have the necessary labels as mandated by federal law. TeeTurtle is moving swiftly to protect the market it created and protect consumers from being duped and confused,” adds Keyes, who has already had a string of successes in protecting TeeTurtle’s rights.
“We have invested heavily as a company in protecting the intellectual property rights of our products, and we want to protect our fans from fakes as this trend continues to blow up,” says CEO Ramy Badie.
“As of today, we have filed five federal lawsuits in Washington, Colorado, Utah, Denver, and California. Three of those have already been resolved by permanent injunctions against the infringers and the California case just resulted in a TRO,” Keyes says.
The California lawsuit is the largest case TeeTurtle has filed, with claims against 44 different storefronts that are operating on Dhgate.com, a platform that has been frequently accused of providing aid and comfort to infringers.
“Dhgate.com is notorious for operating a site that caters to this sort of contemptible infringement,” says Keyes. “As we recently pointed out in our California complaint, the US Trade Representative has placed dhgate.com on its ‘Notorious Markets List’ due to overwhelming amounts of counterfeit goods coursing through its platform.”
The California federal court has agreed with TeeTurtle and issued the temporary restraining order to halt the infringement and protect Tee Turtle’s rights.
“We are very pleased with the Court’s order,” Badie says. “We aim to delight our customers every day with original and innovative products, and we are very excited about our future as we continue to grow.”
Badie advises that concerned consumers can guarantee the legitimacy of the TeeTurtle Reversible Octopus Plushies by purchasing them through teeturtle.com or from an authorized retailer. When purchasing a TeeTurtle Reversible Octopus Plushie on Amazon, always ensure it says “Sold by Amazon.com” below the “Add to Cart” button to make sure you don’t receive a low-quality counterfeit product.