Softbelly plush bean bag dolls have chamois surfaces used to clean computer screens. At one point they were named SCREENIE BEANIES. Owners of the BEANIE BABY mark, Ty, sued, and prevailed. Ty has now been ordered to forfeit its $700k judgement for tampering with an expert witness who was allegedly prepared to testify that BEANIE had become a generic term for bean bag dolls. Via Chicago Tribune.
Prior appellate decision remanding case to district judge to investigate Ty’s contact with witness here.