A SCOTS bar has been warned by the BBC over plans for children to be able to enjoy a breakfast meet and greet with Australian cartoon character Bluey.
Foxtons Bar in Glenrothes, Fife received an official letter from the Beeb last week after advertising their Breakfast with Disney and Friends event.
The breakfast is planned to take place at the end of the month and was to feature Bluey, the much-loved blue dog who stars as the titular character in the animated show.
Citing copyright concerns, BBC representatives have asked that Foxtons bar immediately remove any references to the Australian Blue Heeler pup from the event and “do not do so again in the future”.
However, the bar has offered a spirited reply stating that they will replace Bluey with “another dog that happens to be blue”.
Foxtons took to social media last week to share the warning letter from the BBC, writing: “Getting told off by the BBC for trying to run a character breakfast for the kids.
“Wasn’t what I expected to come into today, we may have to replace Bluey with another dog that happens to be blue and may or may not look like a popular children’s tv character.
“Limited availability left by the way, so get your tickets fast.”
The BBC said in the image shared by the pub that they hold the worldwide licence for Bluey which was created by Ludo Studio.
In the letter, the Beeb said: “It has come to our attention that you are promoting a meet and greet event featuring unlicensed Bluey costumes between 24-25 February 2024 on your social media as per the screenshot at Annex A.
“For the avoidance of doubt, neither BBC Studios or Ludo Studio has given permission to the Foxton Bar and Grill for its intellectual property rights in Bluey to be used to promote meet and greet events with unlicensed Bluey costumes.
“For your information, the Bluey logo, characters and artwork are protected by copyright, which is owned exclusively by Ludo Studio.
“In addition, any unpermitted use of the Bluey characters and artwork to promote events with unlicensed Bluey costumes is likely to be misleading and could deceive consumers into believing that the event is either licensed, associated with or approved by Ludo Studio and/or BBC Studios.
“This is of course of particular concern to us in relation to any event which is catering for children, due to the obvious safety issues and related legislation.
“We therefore must ask that you immediately remove any Bluey references from your events, including any and all social media and please do not do so again in the future.
“Please provide your confirmation that this has been done by return via email within 10 days from the date of this letter.”
Legal action has led Scots to now appeal to the popular bar to bring in a Scots doppelganger for the character and dub her McBluey.
Their post received over 300 likes with hundreds of comments from Scots who couldn’t believe the “hullabluey” created by a children’s event.
Sarah Bissett said: “Just don’t advertise as Bluey as that’s the copyright, spell it differently Baluey, Blooey, Baluie, Bluee.”
Fiona Stirling added: “Wow that’s petty by the BBC.”
Suzi Hood joked: “What a hullabluey.”
Phil Grubb quipped: “Stick a kilt on the costume and call it Skye Blue’eh, the Scottish knock off version.”
Bluey is a popular children’s cartoon which follows the everyday adventures of Bluey and her sister Bingo whilst living with their mum and dad in Australia.
Speaking today, a representative for Foxtons said: “We’re just trying to do a community event, this is the first time that anyone has ever brought anything to our attention and the letter was a bit strange to target a small restaurant in Glenrothes.
“The letter just came completely out of the blue and we were shocked as it’s for the children, we’re not trying to turn a profit, we do lots of different breakfasts just to give the children something to look forward to.
“It’s certainly new that someone would write to us in this way but we’ve understood their concerns as it was more to do with a poster being used, we just needed to alter the image.
“On the day, there will be a dog replica mascot there.”
