Ty, Inc. v. GMA Accessories, Inc.
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
132 F.3d 1167 (1997)
Relevant factsFree
Ty (plaintiff), maker of Beanie Baby stuffed animals including a pig named Squealer, sued competitor GMA (defendant) over its similar pig toy, Preston the Pig, and obtained a preliminary injunction; GMA appealed only as to Preston, submitting a photo comparison using a defective, unreleased prototype version of Preston (closer to designer Janet Salmon's original submission than the actual retail product) shown at a misleading angle and with an unreleased ribbon accessory.
IssueFree
Whether, in an infringement suit, access can be assumed if similarities between two works are so strong that it is highly probable that the infringing work is a copy of a protected work.