Grumpy Cat Limited
Company behind the Grumpy Cat internet meme
- Entries
- 8
- On the record
- 3
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- May 17, 2019
The record
Grumpy Cat Limited is the company that holds the rights to Grumpy Cat, a cat whose real name was Tardar Sauce and whose frowning face spread online in 2012, according to the company's own site, which still carries a 2026 Grumpy Cat Limited copyright line. The cat was owned by Tabatha Bundesen of Morristown, Arizona, and her family, and the business ran on licensing: books, a Friskies endorsement, a Madame Tussauds figure and branded products.
One of those products was an iced coffee called the Grumppuccino, announced in July 2013 to reach stores the following month. The company's court fight with the coffee maker over how far that license reached is told in the story on this file. Tardar Sauce died in May 2019 at age 7; the family announced her death on social media, and the company has kept selling Grumpy Cat books since.
The license deal and the dispute over it ended up before a California federal jury. In 2013 Grenade Beverage, owned by Nick and Paul Sandford, struck a $150,000 deal to put the cat's scowl on iced coffee. Grumpy Cat Limited sued in 2015, saying Grenade exceeded the deal by selling roasted coffee and T-shirts, and Grenade countersued. In January 2018 the jury awarded the company $710,000 for copyright and trademark infringement and $1 for breach of contract.
Roles and honours on the record
Every entry, newest first
- Ruled
California federal jury ordered $710,000 for copyright and trademark infringement against Grenade, BBC News reported. Biggest creator scandals ranked: MrBeast suit first, Fyre second
Stories in this file
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The record, entry by entry
- 2012 Official Grumpy Cat became a worldwide sensation when her frowning face was shared online; after viewers claimed the image was edited, the first video drew more than 1.5 million views in 36 hours, the official site says. Grumpy Cat Limited, official site
- 2013 Reported Grenade Beverage, owned by father and son Nick and Paul Sandford, struck a $150,000 deal to market iced coffee drinks with Grumpy Cat's scowl on the packaging, the BBC reported. BBC News report
- 2013-07-31 Reported Fox News reported that the Grumppuccino, a Grumpy Cat-branded iced coffee, would hit the market the following month, according to the company launching it. Fox News report
- 2015 Filed Grumpy Cat Limited sued Grenade's owners for breach of contract, alleging they exceeded the deal by selling roasted coffee and Grumppuccino T-shirts in infringement of its copyrights and trademarks. Grenade's owners countersued, saying the cat's owners had not held up their side of the deal. BBC News report
- 2015-12 Reported Madame Tussauds San Francisco unveiled an animatronic replica of Grumpy Cat that can lift its head and purr. HuffPost reported the cat was owned by Tabatha Bundesen. HuffPost report
- 2018-01 Ruled A California federal jury sided with Grumpy Cat Limited, awarding $710,000 in damages for copyright and trademark infringement and $1 in nominal damages for breach of contract. BBC News report
- 2019-05-17 Reported The Bundesen family announced on social media that Tardar Sauce had died that Tuesday at age 7. HuffPost listed her Friskies endorsement, book series and Madame Tussauds figure among her commercial work. HuffPost report