“I had it in my cart!”: Did Pop Mart remove a toy after Ty defended its Beanie Bouncer trademark?
Toy company Ty has announced a spring-loaded Beanie Bouncer plush to celebrate its 40th anniversary. But along with the nostalgic release came something more unexpected: a full-page warning in TIME magazine defending Ty’s patent and threatening action against copycats.
Ty's full-page ad for Beanie Bouncers
In a TikTok with more than 234,000 views, a woman opens an issue of TIME magazine to reveal a dramatic full-page ad from Ty.
The ad reads, "Warning: We own the bounce. Innovation can't be copied. We've secured U.S. patent rights to defend this breakthrough."
The page features a picture of Ty's new Beanie Bouncer, a plush toy with a spring that lets it bounce up to 50 feet in the air. The Beanie Bouncers come in many versions, including Marvel characters, zoo animals, and holiday editions.
@shannon.chaos.edition @Ty bro what is going on? 😭😭😭 #christmasgifts #toyindustry #copyrightinfringement #beaniebabies ♬ original sound - Shannon
The ad doesn’t name any competitor directly, but viewers immediately connected it to a new toy from Pop Mart called Pucky Beanie Flying Babies.
Pucky Beanie Flying Babies vs. Beanie Bouncers
In a post on the subreddit r/PuckyCollectors, users noticed that the Pucky Beanie Flying Babies had suddenly disappeared from Pop Mart’s online store.
While the toys don’t appear to bounce or use Ty’s patented spring mechanism, users speculated that the use of the word “Beanie” may have triggered the warning from Ty.
“What if they got a cease and desist from Beanie Babies?” one user wrote. “I don’t know why they didn’t call them Pucky Flying Beanies!”
"Because of some copyright issues with TY toys, Beanie Bouncers are patented. So I guess Pop Mart had to pull the products back to re-design them...," another writes.
Several commenters suggest the Pucky Beanie Flying Babies will be repackaged and renamed before returning to the market. Pop Mart has removed the product page and reportedly canceled active preorders.
"I asked about it on the live earlier, and all they said was that it was delayed and won't be released tomorrow," a shopper shares.
"I had the new Pucky Beanie Flying Baby in my cart on the app, ready to purchase on release date, which I thought was tomorrow (11/6), and I noticed that it was no longer showing up on the app," a second writes. "I’m so sad, I was looking forward to this one!!!"
The Daily Dot has reached out to Ty for comment.
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