(Source: www.imdb.com)
A Los Angeles judge has thrown out a lawsuit by the Walt Disney Company, trying to terminate a licensing agreement between the Mouse House and the estate of Steven Slesinger over Winnie the Pooh.
U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper dismissed Disney's claim that they no longer needed to pay Slesinger's estate royalties for A.A. Milne's bear. This now opens the door for Slesinger's heirs to file a $2 billion lawsuit against the Mouse House, claiming damages, trademark and copyright infringement, breach of contract, and fraudulently underpaying royalties.
"The fact that the court has now held that there is no need even for a trial concerning either termination notice shows that Disney had no business starting this lawsuit in the first place," said lawyer Roger Zissu, who is representing the Slesinger estate.
Steven Slesinger acquired the rights to Winnie the Pooh in 1930 and, in 1961, transferred them to Disney in exchange for regular royalty payments. In 1983, Slesinger and Disney updated the agreement: Disney would retain 98% of gross worldwide royalties while Slesinger would get 2%.
However, the relationship went sour. In 1991, Slesinger's estate filed suit against Disney, claiming that the entertainment conglomerate had flagrantly underpaid the Slesingers. This initial lawsuit was terminated by a judge after it was discovered that a Slesinger investigator had stolen evidence from Disney's garbage and then lied and altered court papers to hide the theft.
In 2002, Disney funded an attempt by both Clare Milne, A.A. Milne's grand-daughter and heir, and Harriet Jessie Minette Hunt (grand-daughter of original illustrator E.H. Shepard) to regain control of the Winnie the Pooh franchise. In exchange, Disney would get permanent control of the property.
A federal court had rejected Milne's lawsuit and the Supreme Court upheld that decision last June. Cooper had ruled that Clare Milne could not overturn a 1983 consent by her father, Christopher Robin Milne, to allow the Slesingers to renew the agreement.
Disney hoped that by stripping Slesinger's rights to Winnie the Pooh, that Milne and Hunt could assign them to Disney permanently. Ironically, Disney and Slesinger's 1983 agreement was an attempt to ensure that Milne's heirs never regained control of the franchise.
