Campbell Scrambles Up Legal Action
ORLANDO (Orlando Business Journal) -- Doodling one day at his Seminole County art studio, popular local artist Keith "Scramble" Campbell dreamt up the character he now affectionately calls "the one-eyed smiling face." Fast forward nine years: The Disney/Pixar Animation Studios blockbuster Monsters, Inc. hits movie theaters around the globe, scaring up more than $100 million at the domestic box office in nine days, accord-ing to Pixar. Among the monsters: Mike Wazowski, a one-eyed smiling character that Campbell says he im-mediately recognized. In a federal lawsuit filed here, Campbell alleges that Burbank, Calif.-based Walt Disney Co., Walt Disney World Co. and Disney Enterprises, "having seen Campbell's one-eyed smiling face, have misappropriated the character for their own commercial gain." Disney, though, claims the yellow-green crea-tion as its own. "We consider the case to be totally without merit," says Marilyn Waters, spokesperson for Walt Disney World, who also spoke on behalf of the other two Disney companies. Campbell's one-eyed monster has had plenty of local exposure. In 1989, he drew it on a vehicle he drove around town. He used it on refrig-erator magnets, T-shirts and posters. The critter was a frequent part of drawings Campbell presented at vari-ous art exhibits. In 1998, Campbell put his character on a mural he painted for the city of Orlando. He then took his character on tour, including to Woodstock in 1994. Today, Campbell still uses a variation of the one-eyed smiling face as an icon on his Web site to promote the sale of his original works of art, some of which feature a variation of the character. In the meantime, Monsters, Inc. has spawned a host of merchandise, in-cluding grinning green replicas of Wazowski. Campbell, though, is not smiling. In a 13-count copyright suit, the local artist asks that Disney be barred from using the monster. In addition to using his art without permission, he alleges the film and subsequent marketing will confuse the public into thinking Campbell copied his charac-ter off of Disney/Pixar's Wazowski, thus ruining his ability to promote and market his own one-eyed creature. Campbell did not return requests for comment. His attorneys declined to detail the allegations, saying, "The complaint speaks for itself." Disney, though, has plenty say. No formal response has been filed -- Judge Greg-ory Presnell has granted the Disney companies' request for more time to reply to the suit -- but, says Waters, "the characters in Monsters, Inc. were developed independently by the Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures creative teams. And they do not infringe anyone's copyrights." Muddying the legal proceedings is the ubiquitous nature of one-eyed monsters through the ages. Lee Bennett, an attorney with Gray-Harris in Orlando, references Cy-clopes dating back 2,000 years. In such copyright disputes, Bennett says, the plaintiff will have to prove the defendants copied his character and that he, in turn, did not copy his own character off of someone else. "There is no law in this country that protects ideas and concepts," he says.
ORLANDO (Orlando Business Journal) -- Doodling one day at his Seminole County art studio, popular local artist Keith "Scramble" Campbell dreamt up the character he now affectionately calls "the one-eyed smiling face." Fast forward nine years: The Disney/Pixar Animation Studios blockbuster Monsters, Inc. hits movie theaters around the globe, scaring up more than $100 million at the domestic box office in nine days, accord-ing to Pixar. Among the monsters: Mike Wazowski, a one-eyed smiling character that Campbell says he im-mediately recognized. In a federal lawsuit filed here, Campbell alleges that Burbank, Calif.-based Walt Disney Co., Walt Disney World Co. and Disney Enterprises, "having seen Campbell's one-eyed smiling face, have misappropriated the character for their own commercial gain." Disney, though, claims the yellow-green crea-tion as its own. "We consider the case to be totally without merit," says Marilyn Waters, spokesperson for Walt Disney World, who also spoke on behalf of the other two Disney companies. Campbell's one-eyed monster has had plenty of local exposure. In 1989, he drew it on a vehicle he drove around town. He used it on refrig-erator magnets, T-shirts and posters. The critter was a frequent part of drawings Campbell presented at vari-ous art exhibits. In 1998, Campbell put his character on a mural he painted for the city of Orlando. He then took his character on tour, including to Woodstock in 1994. Today, Campbell still uses a variation of the one-eyed smiling face as an icon on his Web site to promote the sale of his original works of art, some of which feature a variation of the character. In the meantime, Monsters, Inc. has spawned a host of merchandise, in-cluding grinning green replicas of Wazowski. Campbell, though, is not smiling. In a 13-count copyright suit, the local artist asks that Disney be barred from using the monster. In addition to using his art without permission, he alleges the film and subsequent marketing will confuse the public into thinking Campbell copied his charac-ter off of Disney/Pixar's Wazowski, thus ruining his ability to promote and market his own one-eyed creature. Campbell did not return requests for comment. His attorneys declined to detail the allegations, saying, "The complaint speaks for itself." Disney, though, has plenty say. No formal response has been filed -- Judge Greg-ory Presnell has granted the Disney companies' request for more time to reply to the suit -- but, says Waters, "the characters in Monsters, Inc. were developed independently by the Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures creative teams. And they do not infringe anyone's copyrights." Muddying the legal proceedings is the ubiquitous nature of one-eyed monsters through the ages. Lee Bennett, an attorney with Gray-Harris in Orlando, references Cy-clopes dating back 2,000 years. In such copyright disputes, Bennett says, the plaintiff will have to prove the defendants copied his character and that he, in turn, did not copy his own character off of someone else. "There is no law in this country that protects ideas and concepts," he says.
