Arizona’s Grumpy Cat snatches lump of cash in California court

PHOENIX — For those who have been immersed in internet culture for some time, you most likely remember Grumpy Cat.

Grumpy Cat, an Arizona feline whose real name is Tardar Sauce, became an online phenomenon-turned-merchandising-machine after owner Tabatha Bundesen of Morristown, Arizona, first posted pictures of her in 2012.

Those photos were then turned into an online trend, with toys, books, awards, a Lifetime Christmas special and she even became the first feline to have a wax figure in Madame Tussauds’ San Francisco location.

It was reported in 2014 that Grumpy Cat earned Bundesen at least $100 million since becoming an online celebrity.

Whether or not that is true, Bundesen has recently become a little richer: A California jury awarded her more than $700,000 this week in a federal lawsuit over the use of the cat’s identity.

According to documents obtained by The Washington Post, Bundesen won the lawsuit first filed three years ago against the Grenade beverage company.

She signed on for the cat to endorse a “Grumpy Cat Grumpuccino,” but the company subsequently used the cat’s image to help sell other products, which an eight-person jury on Monday found was unauthorized.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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