Berkshire-Owned Toy Company Squares Off With Build-A-Bear In Legal Battle

Build-A-Bear and Squishmallows maker Kelly Toys are now facing off in federal court. In a lawsuit filed Monday, Kelly Toys and parent company Jazwares accused Build-A-Bear's new “Skoosherz” products of copying the look and feel of their mega-popular Squishmallow toys. Build-A-Bear soon clapped back with its own lawsuit — saying that its “Skoosherz” toys were based on its own original stuffed animals that have been around for years. Jazwares’ is owned by Alleghany Corp., an insurance giant controlled by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. The Squishmallows booth sold toys modeled after Warren Buffett, and Charlie Munger in the exhibit hall for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting, Saturday, May 6, 2023, in Omaha.