Gummy Bear International, Inc. — owner of the Gummibär animated character and the song "I am a Gummy Bear," which has been viewed over four billion times on YouTube alone — sued sixty-six defendants for selling counterfeit Gummibär plush toys through online storefronts. The toys allegedly play a bootleg recording of the hit song, in violation of the Copyright Act, the Lanham Act, and state law.
The immediate dispute centered on four defendants — HARBROT TOYS CO., LTD., PIVIWN, PPWOUU, and Sharp Cow — whose Walmart accounts hold a combined $49,838.41 frozen under a preliminary injunction entered in July 2025. Those defendants moved to slash the freeze to $1,491.34, the amount they claimed represented their actual revenue from the counterfeit sales. Gummy Bear International cross-moved for prejudgment attachment of the full frozen amount under Rule 64(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and Section 6201 of the New York Civil Practice Law and Rules.
Judge Jesse M. Furman granted the attachment and denied the defendants' reduction motion as moot. The statutory framework was undisputed: all four defendants reside in China and are not qualified to do business in New York, satisfying the nondomiciliary ground for attachment under C.P.L.R. § 6201(1). The court had already twice found a likelihood of success on the merits — on both the copyright and trademark claims — and the defendants did not contest that finding or assert any counterclaims.
The contested question was need. Judge Furman found that the likely statutory damages alone justify the full attachment. The Lanham Act permits recovery of up to $200,000 per counterfeit mark per type of goods — and up to $2,000,000 per mark if the infringement is willful, which the court said it almost certainly would be given the similarity between the counterfeit and genuine products. The Copyright Act allows up to $30,000 per work infringed, and up to $150,000 if willful. The court noted that courts in similar cases have routinely awarded statutory damages of $50,000 or more per defendant, making the likely total judgment exceed the $49,838.41 frozen.
The risk of non-collection compounded the need finding. According to plaintiff's representations, the defendants' Walmart storefronts are now closed and no trace of them appears on any e-commerce platform. The defendants also appear to have no U.S. assets beyond the frozen funds. Judge Furman cited the inherently deceptive nature of counterfeiting operations — a basis recognized in prior decisions — as supporting the conclusion that defendants are likely to move assets beyond the court's reach if the freeze is lifted.
The court vacated the asset-freeze portion of the preliminary injunction — which is now superseded by the attachment order — while leaving the rest of the injunction intact. The $25,000 bond Gummy Bear International posted for the temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction was deemed the undertaking for the prejudgment attachment. Plaintiff was ordered to submit a proposed order consistent with the ruling by April 29, 2026.