Vietnamese animation studio Sconnect has sought help from local government agencies after YouTube deleted 3,000 videos featuring a cartoon character named Wolfoo, following a demand by a British firm.

Sconnect said that YouTube made the move as Entertainment One UK Limited (EO), the producer of Peppa Pig, an animated series about a family of pigs, reported Sconnect’s videos, claiming that Sconnect plagiarized images, scenes, and sound effects of Peppa Pig.

These videos had billions of views.

The Vietnamese animation studio said EO accused it of using sound effects, including exclamations such as 'hurray,' 'oh,' 'wow,' 'huh,' and 'hmm,' and laughter owned by EO, which lasted only one second per video.

According to Sconnect, EO has no ground to report the videos as both EO and YouTube did not clarify which videos by Sconnect used Peppa Pig content and sound effects.

“Scenes in Wolfoo videos were created by Sconnect staff, while sounds were directly recorded by Vietnamese dubbing mixers,” the Vietnamese studio said.

The scenes and sounds were made based on materials and creation principles in line with Vietnam’s law.

Therefore, EO’s accusation and YouTube’s acceptance of its claims to remove Wolfoo videos are baseless and unlawful, a representative of Sconnect affirmed.

As a result, Sconnect wrote to the Copyright Office of Vietnam under the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the Authority of Broadcasting and Electronic Information under the Ministry of Information and Communications, the Vietnam Competition Commission, and the Vietnam Digital Communications Association, asking them to request that YouTube stop receiving claims from EO and recover the more than 3,000 Wolfoo videos that were already removed. 

The Sconnect representative told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that “[they] are unsure about the restoration of the videos as it depends on YouTube’s decision. 

“Our company has suffered great losses since early 2022.”

Peppa Pig was introduced in 2008 and shown on television in the UK and some other European countries.

Wolfoo, released in 2018, is an animated series about a little wolf and his family and friends.

This is not the first time Wolfoo videos have been removed. 

The legal battle for the intellectual property rights between Sconnect and EO began last year when the latter filed lawsuits against the former in Russia, the UK, and Vietnam, saying Wolfoo was a remake of Peppa Pig.

EO claimed Wolfoo videos were created based on Peppa Pig and YouTube hid many videos featuring Wolfoo on its platform.

YouTube later restored some Wolfoo videos and unlocked Sconnect’s 19 channels for uploading Wolfoo videos after Sconnect won the lawsuits.

EO also immediately withdrew its claims.

Sconnect sued the British company in the Hanoi People’s Court in August last year for unfair competition, claiming losses of nearly US$292,000 as a result, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

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