- French court ruled that Sprout’s design infringes the Andrea air purifier design.
- Supercell must pay over €370,000 (around $425,000) in damages and legal costs.
- Sprout will receive a redesign in Update 68 following the French court ruling, with the changes being detailed in the upcoming patch notes.
Supercell’s beloved title, Brawl Stars, has found itself at the center of an unexpected legal controversy after a French Court ruled that the design of the popular Brawler, Sprout, infringes the copyright of a real-world air purifier. The decision, issued by the Paris Judicial Court in December 2025, has sparked discussions across the community, especially after players recently noticed several official Sprout artworks disappearing from Brawl Stars’ social media.
The court found significant similarities between Sprout and Andrea
So, the case revolves around French designer Mathieu Lehanneur’s “Andrea” air purifier, a product first commercialized way back in 2009, and Brawl Stars’ beloved character Sprout. The court examined both designs and concluded that Sprout reproduced a combination of key visual characteristics from the air purifier, including the capsule-like body shape, transparent rounded dome, visible plant elements, fan structure, and the distinctive division between the upper and lower sections.
Moreover, the court noted that while Sprout’s design features robotic arms, wheels, and a face, those additions weren’t enough to outweigh all the similarities that they found. Interestingly, Supercell sank its own boat by presenting the early concept of Sprout during the proceedings, since the court observed that the character initially looked way different during development and only evolved and resembled Andrea. This made them realise that the similarities weren’t merely coincidental.
Supercell ordered to pay damages and remove Sprout versions in France
The court also rejected Supercell’s argument that the designer was not the sole copyright holder. And as part of the ruling, Supercell has been ordered to pay €250,000 (around $287,500) as provisional compensation for economic damages and also an additional €80,000 (around $92,000) for moral damages.
They must also reimburse €40,000 (around $46,000) in legal costs and even provide certified financial reports detailing revenue generated by Sprout and related merchandise in France since April 2020. So, we can expect them to pay even more. Besides the monetary compensations, Supercell must also stop using the default and other versions (cosmetics) of Sprout in France, and this ruling applies to both the game itself and all advertising or other materials.
They’ll have to pay €1,000 per day as a penalty if they fail to comply. Anyway, while the situation itself is not great, I’m happy that Sprout is not being removed globally. In fact, recent reports from sources like Chosen Network indicate that Sprout’s current design will be remodelled in Update 68, with the revamp expected to be officially detailed in the upcoming patch notes.
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