The ongoing battle between the Walt Disney Co. (DIS) and the estate of Winnie the Pooh license holder Stephen Slesinger took another turn as a federal judge dismissed a suit backed by Disney but filed the granddaughters of Pooh author A.A. Milne and illustrator E.H. Shepard.
The granddaughters sued to terminate the Slesingers' rights to Pooh and then turn them over to Disney. Disney was not officially part of the case but paid for the expenses of the women filing the suit.
This all started when Slesinger got the merchandising and other rights to the Pooh works from A.A. Milne back in 1930. Slesinger and Milne's widow turned the rights 
over to Disney in 1961 in exchange for royalties from the sale of Pooh merchandise.
The widow of Slesinger and his daughter have been fighting over a decade with Disney, claiming that the media giant owes them billions of dollars in royalties they haven't paid them from Pooh. In 2005 alone Pooh merchandise created $6 billion in retail sales.
The U.S. Supreme Court has already refused to hear the case, thus letting the decisions of lower courts that Clare Milne couldn't void a 1983 license renewel agreement with Slesinger.
With the judge basically rejected similar claims by Shepard's granddaughter, she must decide on whether the case should be appealed or not.
Things even get murkier though as the Slesinger estate is now filing a claim with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for the purpose of cancelling Disney trademarks on the Pooh character that they claim were taken out illegally.
A spokesman for the Slesinger family said that, "The next step is we are seeking damages (in federal court) from Disney, including of their U.S. and Canadian television media and merchandising rights to Winnie the Pooh."
Disney attorney Daniel Petrocelli said concerning the ruling by the judge that it "has no bearing whatsoever on Disney's rights to Pooh," or on the judgement of a California state court that has already dismissed the Slesingers' royalty claims against Disney.
"If there were a reasonable view of their royalty interest, we could settle it in a heartbeat," Petrocelli added.
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That IS weird. Well, if so many billions are made each year just on Pooh items, it at least makes sense that it would fought over. Good post, Gary.
Posted by: Easton Ellsworth | February 16, 2007 9:26 PM | Permalink to Comment