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'Grumpy Cat' wins $700,000 in federal case over identity

A California jury gave the furry frown queen over $700,000 this week in a lawsuit over the use of her identity.
Image: Grumpy Cat
Grumpy Cat poses for photos in New York, on Nov. 14, 2016.Richard Drew / AP file
/ Source: The Associated Press

SANTA ANA, Calif. — It still won't make her smile, but Grumpy Cat has won some scratch.

A California jury gave the furry frown queen more than $700,000 this week in a federal lawsuit over the use of her identity.

According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, owner Tabatha Bundesen of Morristown, Arizona, won the lawsuit first filed three years ago against the Grenade beverage company.

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She signed on for the cat to endorse a "Grumpy Cat Grumpuccino," but the company subsequently used the cat's image to help sell other products, which an eight-person jury on Monday found was unauthorized.

“Ironically, while the world-famous feline Grumpy Cat and her valuable brand are most often invoked in a tongue-and-cheek fashion, Defendants’ despicable misconduct here has actually given Grumpy Cat and her owners something to be grumpy about,” the complaint obtained by The Washington Post stated.

David Jonelis, the attorney for Grumpy Cat Limited, told Courthouse News the verdict was a "complete victory."

“Grumpy Cat feels vindicated and feels the jury reached a just verdict," he said.

Grumpy Cat, whose dwarfism and underbite give her the permanent frown she's famous for, became an online phenomenon-turned-merchandising-machine after Bundesen first posted pictures of her in 2012.