Walt Disney loses Winnie the pooh copyright case!

[missionspace]

I just saw this on the bottom of my tv today!
cnbc
Disney to pay 2 billion dollars!

 

[hokielutz]

what????

 

[TakeMe2TheMagic]

What????? Thats crazy!!!!

 

[hokielutz]

nothing on google or any major news websites yet

 

[Lauriebar]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070208/disney_winnie_the_pooh_rights.html

 

[DisneyMusician2]

Really? I'm not surprised. Do we have a link to a news story, or is this simply rumor or "inside tip"?

 

[hokielutz]

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070208/disney_winnie_the_pooh_rights.html

But this is from early last week
the $2 Billion is what they are seeking in a suit

 

[Lauriebar]

I just posted that link because it was the only thing I could find on the subject this month.

I think that maybe what the op saw was a reference to the new lawsuit, not an actual settlement of the case.

I could be wrong...I often am...

 

[DisneyMusician2]

So its not an actual court loss yet. I'll be anxious to see what the final result of all of this Winnie posturing will be...

 

[hokielutz]

There was an interview done by CNBC yesterday between the legal reps of the two parties. Something to the effect that a judge has ordered everyone to get together and work out their differences asap.

 

[CTXRover]

There is no mention of Disney actually losing the case anywhere in the world of news on the internet. If it was on tv, something this big would be on some news' website by now. The 2 billion dollar figure is simply the Slesinger's latest attempt to get money they believe they deserve. The case has been heard and dismissed by the courts a number of times already. This is simply another attempt from a slightly different angle. Disney has tried within the last 2 years to completely get the Slesinger's out of the picture to prevent this endless legal battle by having the family of AA Milne take back the relatively small holding that the Slesinger's have with the Pooh character. Disney has since lost that case and so the legal battle continues. Hopefully Iger's apparent ability to mend fences and solve disagreements between Disney and other parties, with Disney coming out the apparent winner, will get this to go away forever.

I imagine what you saw on cnbc was in regards to a story they ran yesterday. Here is the video for those interested:
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=182015080&play=1

From what I can tell, it is simply another impending litigation battle and no ruling has been made.

 

[JimboJones123]

This has only taken how many decades?

 

[hokielutz]

Here is the link to the video interview done yesterday:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=182015080&play=1

 

[CTXRover]

Here is the latest from today:
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/02-16-2007/0004529426&EDATE=

If I am reading this right, Disney has lost their latest attempt to take the copyright holdings from the Slesinger's, allowing the Slesinger's to pursue their latest attempt to either take away all of Disney's rights to Pooh and/or have Disney pay royalties in excess of 2 billion. No judgement towards Disney losing THAT battle has been made, other than the one that was very similar a few years ago that the court dismissed.

 

[TakeMe2TheMagic]

What will become of everything Pooh?

 

[CTXRover]

What will become of everything Pooh?

This battle has been going on for a VERY long time. Both parties keep trying the same thing to undermine the other and both sides continue losing keep Pooh exactly where it was when this all started. I obviously don't know all the details of this case, but I really don't see Disney losing their rights to Pooh.

 

[hokielutz]

If I am reading this right, Disney has lost their latest attempt to take the copyright holdings from the Slesinger's, allowing the Slesinger's to pursue their latest attempt to either take away all of Disney's rights to Pooh and/or have Disney pay royalties in excess of 2 billion. No judgement towards Disney losing THAT battle has been made, other than the one that was very similar a few years ago that the court dismissed.

I agree with your summary reading of the news release. It was probably just an over-eager news graphic person putting in a misleading news line

 

[hokielutz]

The whole drawn out issue seems to be this family's way of getting more royalties from Disney for the use of the Pooh characters.

If they did follow through with their threats and were able to cancel Disney's copyright and take back the rights to Pooh, they'd probably sell to Universal or Dreamworks.
But Slesinger's attempts in the courts to achieve this result have failed in the past, so I don't know if a new angle will give them the judgement they are seeking.

 

[sbkline]

What will become of everything Pooh?

I almost wish Disney WOULD lose the rights to Pooh. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of Pooh being the mascot for Disney. When the wife and I were looking for baby stuff, if we wanted something Disney, the majority of the time, it was Pooh. When we wanted a Disney stroller, what was available? You guessed it; not Mickey and Donald, but Pooh. Sure, there's Mickey and gang stuff available, too, but not as much as Pooh. I'm of the old school, in that I think that Mickey and gang should be the primary representatives of Disney, not friggin Pooh and gang.

So if Disney did lose the rights, at least maybe then, they would have to put things in Mickey and Donald and not Pooh.

 

[Pixiedust1393]

I hope they don't take away the use of Pooh characters. I'm not a big fan of Pooh, but I am a big Crystal Palace fan and I look forward to seeing the characters while I'm there. Btw, why isn't Rabbit ever at Crystal Palace?