On December 4, 2025, the Paris Judicial Tribunal issued its ruling in case No. 22/01196: the character Wally (known in the English version as Sprout) from the mobile game Brawl Stars infringes the copyright of a French designer over his air purifier "Andrea."

What Is "Andrea"?

In 2008, a French designer filed a patent for the "Andrea" air purifier - a device that uses the biological properties of a plant to filter air. The product reached the market in 2009. The US patent (No. US 8 707 619) is registered under the names of both the designer and a university professor who contributed to the technical development. The US copyright (No. VA 2-211-678) is registered solely in the designer's name.

"Andrea" takes the form of an ovoid, capsule-shaped object with a rounded top and a flat base. The upper section is transparent, housing a live plant that protrudes through an opening at the top. The lower section is opaque and white, with a fan on the rear panel and a pull-out water tray at the front. The object was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA).

The court recognized "Andrea" as a work of applied art protected by copyright. Despite the functional nature of certain elements - the fan, the tray, the plant, the transparent section - their form, arrangement, and overall combination were found to reflect the author's free creative choices and personal expression. The court also noted that the patent protects the biological air filtration method, not the object's aesthetics, and that the two are separable. The court recognized the designer as the sole author of the aesthetic work: the second contributor to the project, a university professor, confirmed in written testimony that his involvement was limited to technical and functional aspects, and stated that he held no copyright over the work.

Where the Court Found Infringement

Brawl Stars launched in 2017 and became available Global in December 2018. The character Wally/Sprout appeared in the game in April 2020.

The court conducted a detailed comparison between the character and the "Andrea" purifier. Wally features a cylindrical body with a rounded top and a flat base. The upper section is transparent, the lower section is white and opaque, separated by a diagonal curved line that the court found "strongly similar" to the characteristic bevel of "Andrea." The rear of the lower section has a fan, while the front displays a rectangle with a blue droplet referencing a water reservoir. A green leaf protrudes through an opening at the top.

The court specifically noted that the attributes of the character's body - the plant, the fan, the top opening, the rectangle with a droplet - are not typical of an ordinary robot, but are characteristic of an air filtration system with a plant. Their arrangement is identical to that of "Andrea," with one exception: Wally's reservoir is at the back rather than the front.

A key piece of evidence was the early concept sketches of the character, submitted by Supercell itself. In those sketches, Wally looked quite different: far less cylindrical and without the diagonal dividing line. The distinctive features linking him to "Andrea" appeared only at a later stage of development - the court interpreted this as evidence of deliberate borrowing rather than coincidental similarity. The character's additional elements - claw arms, wheels, a pink spiky mass instead of a plant, a face drawn on a sticky note - were not considered sufficient to eliminate the resemblance to the original.

The court characterized Wally as a composite work that unlawfully incorporates "Andrea" without the author's permission, and found infringement of both the designer's economic rights and his moral rights: Supercell never credited the author of the original work and altered the purpose of the work by turning a design object into a video game character.

The Ruling

Supercell is required to:

• Pay €250,000 as a preliminary award for economic damages (lost licensing revenue); the final amount will be determined once financial reporting is provided;
• Pay €80,000 in compensation for moral damages (violation of the right of authorship and the right to the integrity of the work);
• Cease use of the Default and Mutant versions of Wally/Sprout in France - in the game and across all advertising and communication materials - under penalty of €1,000 per day of non-compliance (for a period of one year, beginning two months after notification);
• Provide the designer with auditor-certified financial reports on revenues generated by the character in France since April 2020 - covering in-game sales, merchandise, and trademark licenses; late delivery carries a penalty of €1,000 per month (for a period of one year, beginning two months after notification);
• Reimburse legal costs of €40,000.

Other versions of the character - Tropical, Lunar, Emerald, and Ruby - are not affected by the ruling: the court found that only the Default and Mutant versions reproduce the characteristics of "Andrea."

The court rejected the designer's claim for compensation on grounds of parasitism, finding that the harm from those acts was already covered by the copyright damages awarded. It also rejected the request to publish the ruling on Supercell's website, reasoning that doing so would cement a public association between the designer's name and the game character, thereby worsening the moral harm already suffered.

The court ordered both parties to meet with a mediator to discuss a possible licensing agreement - taking into account that thousands of players have already purchased access to the character in the game.

Information was taken from Tribunal judiciaire de Paris, 4 décembre 2025, n° 22/01196 - Pappers Justice - https://justice.pappers.fr/decision/2d7ffff44503646c2dbfc62f0b84e02b017d26ac