The battle of the babies has begun as the creator of a familiar Mardi Gras mascot filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the makers of a horror film for copyright infringement.
According to the civil lawsuit, New Orleans designer Jonathan Bertuccelli created “King Cake Baby” in 2009. Since then, the “walking head mascot” has been a recognizable figure on the sidelines of Pelicans (then the Hornets) games during carnival season.
“Since KCB’s creation in 2009, it has entertained, scared and fascinated sports fans,” the lawsuit states. “KCB’s iconic blend of sinister, happy and awkward childish delirium has captured audiences around the United States and drove commentary across the media spectrum,” it states.
Bertuccelli’s lawsuit claims that during this national popularity, elements of his King Cake Baby were unlawfully used to make the mask of the killer in Universal Studios’ horror film, “Happy Death Day,” the 2017 slasher flick filmed on the campus of Loyola University New Orleans.
“The [Happy Death Day] masked character and KCB are virtually identical in a side-by-side comparison; and in both “HDD” films the character is used to portray a range of emotional and mental cues that derive from KCB’s intended design.
– Excerpt from an article written by WWL Staff. Find the full article here.
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