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The owner of the clothing brands Perry Ellis and Original Penguin, PEI Licensing, has initiated legal action against the crypto project Pudgy Penguins, alleging unauthorized use of the name and image of a penguin. Pudgy Penguins is the issuer of the PENGU token.
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PEI Licensing claims that the cryptocurrency company is violating fair competition laws, as the clothing brand has utilized the penguin image in its products since 1956 and has held a verbal trademark mentioning the penguin since 1967. The lawsuit states that the actions of Pudgy Penguins are damaging the brand’s reputation: consumers may mistakenly believe that the familiar clothing and the PENGU token are connected, which is not the case. As evidence, PEI presented examples of similarities between its clothing and headwear and those of the competitor.
In the lawsuit, PEI seeks to recover all profits from the sale of products bearing similar marks, reject Pudgy Penguins’ trademark registration applications involving penguins, and seize and destroy items that could confuse consumers due to their resemblance.
The lawsuit emerged after the crypto company filed applications for trademark registrations for Pengu Nation and I am my penguin and my penguin is me. The crypto project intends to use these trademarks for merchandise. The company disagrees with the allegations, asserting that the logos are visually distinct and that the products target different markets and audiences, thus cannot compete.
The Pudgy Penguins project originated from an NFT collection on the Ethereum blockchain, launched in 2021. In addition to the PENGU meme coin on the Solana blockchain, the company has a line of toys that generated $10 million in sales over a year in major retailers, including Walmart and Target. PEI has been contesting the use of the penguin as a trademark since 2023.
In Japan, a scandal has erupted surrounding the Sanae Token project. The token was initially marketed as a project supported by the country’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. When the politician publicly distanced herself from the meme coin, the coin’s price plummeted by more than 60%.
