The popular Instagram account @Lotte_har_instas, which had garnered nearly 80,000 followers, has taken down all of its meme content featuring the beloved children's book characters Lotte and Totte after encountering copyright problems. The creators of the profile acknowledged in an Instagram post that they do not own the rights to these characters, which were originally created by Swedish author Gunilla Wolde in the 1970s. As a result of this- foray into unauthorized use of copyrighted materials, the account has decided to end its journey with these characters.

Lotte and Totte are iconic figures in Swedish literature, and their creator, Gunilla Wolde, passed away in 2015. The rights to these characters are currently held by her heirs, who expressed surprise at discovering that her creations had been transformed into a meme universe without their consent. Per Wolde, Gunilla's son, communicated with K-live earlier this month, sharing his shock upon seeing the extent of the unauthorized usage of his mother’s work on social media platforms like Instagram.

This incident raises important questions regarding copyright and the use of intellectual property on social media. The popularity of meme culture often clashes with existing copyright laws, leading to situations like this where creators must navigate the fine line between inspiration and infringement. The case serves as a reminder for content creators to be diligent about obtaining proper permissions when using existing intellectual content, especially when it belongs to well-known artists or authors.