Fans of Abby Sciuto (Pauley Perrette) undoubtedly remember the “NCIS” forensic scientist for several things: her quirky ways, her goth fashions, her loyalty to her friends and colleagues — and Bert, the Farting Hippo, her squeezable, gaseous companion.
Made even more distinctive by his Abby-like studded leather collar, the stuffed animal often appears during her run on the show. He sometimes becomes a prop in the forensics lab where she makes her living, and at other times he appears by her side in the wild. Alas, Bert hasn’t seen the light of the sun in a few years now, and for an unexpected reason: he’s locked up in a prop vault at CBS Studios due to his on-set popularity. He was also the subject of a huge trademark infringement lawsuit that turned out to be a real boondoggle for Paramount.
The down low on Bert’s locale came from Perrette herself, who told her X followers (back when it was called Twitter) that the hippo was being kept under lock and key because there was only one of him in existence. Fans were so nuts about Bert that they wanted a version of their very own to carry around — which is what led to Bert’s disappearance from “NCIS” and a legal headache for CBS and Paramount alike, and one really bizarre lawsuit.
Bert is locked up tight for a reason
Paramount decided that — much like the equally scandal-causing “Big Bang Theory” song subject, Soft Kitty — gold lay within Bert the Hippo’s flatulence, and the studio decided to mass-produce its own version of the stuffed animal. But Folkmanis Inc. stepped up to claim that CBS had done them wrong, stating that the network had made an unfair gain in selling their own Berts.
Initially, Folkmanis — which designed and produced the version of Bert seen on the show, with a collar added by props and flatulence added in post-production — and CBS had a deal in place. The company would manufacture collar-bearing Berts that contained voice boxes, allowing the stuffed animal to make a farting noise when squeezed. These, as well as keychains, were sold on the CBS Store website. However, Folkmanis ended up suing Delivery Agent Inc. and S.F. Global Sourcing for copyright infringement. The accusation? That the companies teamed up to reach out to Shanghai Orlind Toy Co. in China to produce unlicensed Bert toys. CBS began ordering from them and importing them for sale, cutting Folkmanis out of the deal in the process, which, the company claimed, violated its exclusive right of manufacture. They sought $733,000 in damages and demanded the counterfeit Berts be burned.
CBS likely regretted the fart pun-filled official statement it released after the suit was filed when they settled with Folkmanis two years later. Once the legal issue was in the rear view, the network eventually released official Bert slippers, which farted every time the wearer took a step. And, if you still want a Bert of your own, there is an unofficial stuffed “farting” hippo currently available on Amazon that might scratch your itch.