Warner Bros sues Scooby Snax Essex chip shop over copyright

A village fish and chip shop has been forced to change its name after it was threatened with a high-profile lawsuit.

Warner Bros reportedly threatened to sue the owners of Essex restaurant Scooby Snax for its use of the food of choice of cartoon character Scooby Doo without permission.



Owners John McNeill and Andrea Smith have stated that they named the shop in Brightlingsea after their pet dog.

They explained that they have decided to rename their business in order to avoid an expensive lawsuit.

Lawyers for the Hollywood studio sent the couple a letter last year after they began trading under the name, despite the business having previously operated for eight years.

"We were stunned," John McNeill told The Mirror. "I just couldn't believe that a multi-million-pound company could bully us like this.

"I have had to spend £20,000 on changing ­everything that has the name Scooby on it. We can prove we had been trading before Warner registered the trademark in Europe but we can't afford to fight this."

He added: "We've worked hard to build up this business and won Fish and Chip Shop of the Year three years in a row."

A spokesman for Warner Bros has confirmed that they had contacted the couple in order to protect the "valuable intellectual ­property rights" of Scooby Doo and 'Scooby Snacks'.