Which 1977 court case involved McDonald’s McDonaldland characters and the creators of the children’s show H.R. Pufnstuf?

The 1977 case was Sid & Marty Krofft Television Productions Inc. v. McDonald’s Corporation.

The Kroffts, creators of the children’s television program H.R. Pufnstuf, claimed that McDonald’s advertising characters and setting copied protected elements of their program. The dispute centered on similarities between McDonaldland and the fantasy world associated with H.R. Pufnstuf, including character and environment concepts.

A federal jury found for the Kroffts, and the case became an important copyright decision concerning the protection of overall expressive similarities rather than only identical details. The judgment was later modified in subsequent proceedings.

The case is often summarized too broadly as a ruling that McDonald’s copied the entire show. More precisely, it addressed substantial similarities in protected expression and remains a notable legal episode in McDonald’s branding history.