The challenge

The John Lewis annual Christmas advert has for years been the unofficial start of the run up to the festive season. A shadow was cast over this much-loved tradition when a claim against the retailer and its advertising agency, adam&eveDDB, was brought by a children’s book author. 

The author claimed that Excitable Edgar – the fire-emitting dragon featured in John Lewis’s advert – was copied from one of her books. The stakes were high, involving serious allegations of plagiarism against both the retailer and the advertising agency. 

Our approach

We acted for both John Lewis and adam&eveDDB in successfully defending the claim at the High Court. Combining expertise in intellectual property with a deep understanding of the advertising industry, we guided the clients through the litigation and press interest.

The outcome

The clients successfully demonstrated that the team behind the advert had not copied any elements of her book. The judge found that there was “not a scrap of evidence” that the team had ever even seen the book, telling the clients that “they exit this litigation without the slightest hint or shadow of a stain on their creative integrity”. 

Crucially, because of her attempts to generate publicity around the case, the court granted an order requiring the claimant to publicise the judgment on her website and social media accounts. This was the first time an unsuccessful claimant in a copyright claim has been required to do so.