Seth MacFarlane and Universal Pictures Sued Over 'Ted'

By
ETONLINE

Seth MacFarlane and Universal Pictures are being sued over the wildly popular 2012 comedy Ted, after one production company claimed the idea was stolen from their web series.

Bengal Mangle Productions filed a lawsuit, alleging that that the crass teddy bear, voiced by MacFarlane himself, is strikingly similar to that of their animated bear Charlie, that can be seen in two web series, Charlie the Abusive Teddy and Acting School Academy, which aired from 2009-2010, ET confirms.


RELATED: 5 Things You Don't Know About Seth MacFarlane

The lawsuit claims the bears both have human friends and similar background stories, namely that they are “washed-up child stars/public personas."

Not only do they claim the bears are similar in their characteristics, but the suit also alleges that their social media accounts on Twitter and Facebook have similar postings.

Here are just a few of the tweets the lawsuit claims are similar:


Charlie, March 2, 2009:
"I have a life mission and it is to drink."


Ted, April 4, 2012:
"I drink on Tuesday night to celebrate the fact that it ain't Monday night."


Charlie, July 30, 2009:
"I don't like cocaine. I just like the smell of it."


Ted, June 6, 2012:
"@SlimBurro Just acid, and coke, and Ex, and DMT. That’s where I draw the lines. #AskTed"

This lawsuit could put the kibosh on the expected Ted 2 sequel. Mark Wahlberg was thought to return to the film, and Amanda Seyfried was in line to replace Mila Kunis as the leading lady.


Do you think Charlie and Ted are too much alike?
Check out one of Charlie's videos below and see how the two bears stack up.