As proven by the massive success of the Angry Birds plush line, the world has a hungry for real-world Angry Birds wares. No where is that more apparent than Beijing, where the halls of countless toy shops and electronics stores are filled foot to ceiling with sundry Bird-themed goods, from sweatshirts and jeans to candy and balloons. The catch? Rovio didn’t authorize any of it.
Where others may see a problem, Rovio Mobile’s Mighty Eagle (read: CMO) Peter Versterbacka sees opportunity. He roams these aforementioned shops in search of unauthorized goods — but not to complain or throw around legal orders. He’s there to find the best unofficial Angry Birds items… so he can copy them.
Vesterbacka joined our own John Biggs on stage at Disrupt Beijing for a fireside chat, bringing a trio of Angry Birds balloons along. When questioned about the balloons, Peter responded:
“I’m going to take these balloons back and tell our guys to make these.”
This act of out pirating the pirates, it seems, is something of a habit for Peter.
And why shouldn’t he do it? The intellectual property being utilized is, after all, his company’s. If someone’s looking to make a quick buck off of his team’s work and creativity, there’s really no reason the tables shouldn’t be turned.
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