Juli Adams – an artist based in Seattle – has agreed to an out-of-court settlement for an intellectual property dispute relating to toys she designed for a pet products company, which were based on the internationally acclaimed Angry Birds video game.
Official court papers reveal that Hartz Mountain Corp asked Ms Adams to design the range of toys in 2006, and the company agreed to a five-year licensing contract with her.
However, the company reportedly broke terms and conditions contained within the formal agreement by confirming another deal based on the same product line with mobile games maker Rovio.
As a result, Ms Adams initially launched a legal case against Hartz Mountain Corp in August 2014, stating that the company failed to pay her millions of dollars from the sale of the Angry Birds toys.
Following claims that the company illegally used her intellectual property, Hartz said that the licence only pertained to the artist’s drawings or illustrations of animals.
In December 2014, US District Judge Robert Lasnik denied the company the chance of dismissing the legal challenge.
12 months later, however, in December 2015, a settlement notice filed in the US District Court in Washington confirmed that all claims featured in the lawsuit had been resolved.
Details about the settlement agreement have not been disclosed, though it was reached only a day after a jury trial had been scheduled to commence.