I haz wins: Grumpy Cat in $710,000 court payout

LOS ANGELES - AFP

It won't put a smile on her notoriously pouty face but Grumpy Cat, the feline who became an internet meme and a hugely lucrative brand, has just won $710,000 in court.

The famously moody-looking moggy was at the center of a copyright infringement case in a California federal court which culminated with the jury ruling in favor of her human pet Tabatha Bundesen.

The dispute was sparked by a deal signed between Granade Beverage and Bundesen over the use of Grumpy Cat (real name Tardar Sauce) in a line of iced coffee drinks.

The five-year-old web sensation featured in a range of Granade's drinks, dubbed "Grumpiccionos." But Bundesen's company Grumpy Cat Ltd argued that the drinks firm had gone beyond their contract by using the cat's face on a host of unauthorized products including ground coffee.

A court document showed the jury sided with Bundesen, awarding her $710,001. 

"We asked the jury what they thought was right and they came to the right conclusion," Grumpy Cat's lawyer David Jonelis, adding he believed it was the first time an internet meme had won a victory in court.

Grumpy Cat inadvertently went global in 2012 when Bundsen's brother posted a picture on Reddit of the moggy sporting its now ubiquitous angry-looking face -- caused by a pronounced underbite.

She quickly went viral, spawning reams of "lolcat" memes.  Internet fame soon turned into hard cash as Grumpy Cat became a celebrity in her own right, making cameos in films and TV shows, appearing at Comicon and red carpet premiers and featuring in a host of lucrative merchandise deals.