Seth MacFarlane is being sued for stealing the Ted premise
The titular character in the 2012 comedy Ted is a foul-mouthed, drug-addled teddy bear and the brainchild of creator Seth MacFarlane. Or is it?
A California production company called Bengal Mangle Productions claims that its own teddy bear Charlie, who appeared in the web series Charlie The Abusive Teddy and Acting School Academy, was MacFarlane's inspiration for the hard-drinking bear in his 2012 film. The company is suing MacFarlane for copyright infringement, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
"Both Charlie and Ted reside in a substantially similar environment, including that both Charlie and Ted spend a significant amount of time sitting on a living room couch with a beer and/or cigarette in hand," claims the lawsuit. "Charlie and Ted each have a substantially similar persona, verbal tone, verbal delivery, dialogue, and attitude."
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The lawsuit also names other similarities between the bears, including living in human surroundings, similar social media posts, and similar scenes in Ted and Charlie's two productions. Read the full complaint here [PDF].
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Meghan DeMaria is a staff writer at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked for USA Today and Marie Claire.
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