March 22, 2024

The world of plush toys is not typically known as a hotbed of conflict, but that all changed last month when two big names in the industry clashed in court. The legal battle began when the parent companies of Squishmallows sued Build-A-Bear Workshop, alleging that its new “Skoosherz” line looked suspiciously squishy. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, comparing the Squishmallows original products to Build-a-Bear’s copycats speaks volumes,” said Moez Kaba, an attorney representing Squishmallows’ parent companies Kelly Continue reading

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October 15, 2019

Each year, the toy brand Nerf earns more than $400 million in revenue by selling bright neon “blasters” that shoot rubber-tipped darts. But while the Hasbro-owned company moves plenty of blasters, it has a little more trouble with the darts. Since Nerf’s foam ammo can be easily copied, consumers often opt for cheaper alternatives rather than pay a premium for Nerf-branded darts. “We’ve had the same dart or similar dart for so many years that it’s become uniformed across our Continue reading

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December 7, 2017

A few summers ago, inventor Josh Malone found himself spending hours every week filling up water balloons for his eight children to throw at one another. Convinced that there had to be a more efficient way to build up a water balloon arsenal, he used his mechanical engineering expertise to develop a product called Bunch O Balloons. This device allowed him to fill dozens of balloons at one time and became an immediate hit with his family. After filing for Continue reading

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October 3, 2017

legosThe last decade has been a good one for the Danish company Lego. After surviving a brush with bankruptcy in 2004, the famous toymaker regrouped and pursued an aggressive sales strategy focused on creating popular product lines. The plan worked as brands like Lego Architecture and the Mindstorms series attracted thousands of fans both young and old. By 2010 profits had quadrupled from the same time two years before. The company has since released two hit movies while continuing to Continue reading

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