It doesn’t pay to walk on Grumpy Cat’s right to self-determination and how the notoriously sour-faced feline makes a profit. The famous cat, actually named Tardar Sauce, has an owner who did not pussyfoot around when it came to protecting her beloved cat from poachers, trying to make a profit from the feline's looks and bank off her internet moniker. A California jury decided a Copyright Infringement Lawsuit favorable to feline at the end of January, according to CNBC.

Grumpy’s celebrity status started when her owner’s brother, Bryan Bundesen, posted a photo of the now world-famous cat on Reddit in 2012.

It did not take long before she became a viral sensation, USA Today recounted. An effect of the purring kitty's quick rise to fame was that her owner, Tabatha Bundesen, established Grumpy Cat Limited. When the cat's brand was born, Bundesen was able to “quit her waitressing job,” Business Insider reported.

Beverage company overstepped bounds of licensing contract with cat

In 2013, the cat's brand created a contract with the California-based, father-and-son coffee company Grenade Beverage. The license agreement with Paul and Nick Sandford inspired the duo to hold hope that they could go head-to-head with Starbucks and gain “retail space,” Courthouse News Service noted.

The company was authorized to place the seemingly grumpy feline’s face on its iced coffee merchandise called Grumpy Cat Grumppuccino.

The company, however, overreached and breached the terms of the contract when it also used images of the scowling feline on another product – Grumpy Cat Roasted Coffee.

In addition to the bags of coffee beans that the Sandfords merchandised without Grumpy Cat Limited’s permission was the sale of T-shirts. The civil lawsuit against Grenade Beverage stated that the defendants’ misuse of the celebrity cat’s images for product endorsement honestly gave a reason for Grumpy Cat and Bundesen to feel grumpy.

Civil trial led to jurors rendering verdict favorable to feline

After a trial that lasted one week, an eight-member jury awarded Grumpy $710,001 for Grenade infringing on Grumpy Cat Limited’s brand on January 22. David Jonelis is the attorney who represented Grumpy Cat Limited. Following the jury’s verdict, he assessed the decision as a total victory.

He further conveyed that Grumpy Cat felt vindicated and believes that the jury arrived at a “just verdict.”

Grumpy Cat’s frown is permanent and related to her underbite and dwarfism. Though she was not on-scene at the courthouse when the jury heard closing arguments and when they rendered their verdict, the famous feline reportedly made a “brief appearance” during an earlier stage of the civil trial, according to Courthouse News.

Grumpy now a happy cat?

Following the monetary judgment awarded to the cat, Reg Wydeven may have broken news on how Grumpy will spend the sum. Wydeven noted in the Apple Post Crescent that the “whole Kit & Kaboodle” is “purportedly” earmarked for Fancy Feast.
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