From the WDE Daily Report and AP
Disney Sues Over Teddy Bears
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- The Walt Disney Co. has sued a Swedish importer for copyright infringement and requested the destruction of 25,000 teddy bears it says are illegal replicas of Winnie the Pooh. The stuffed bears, which were made in China, were intercepted by Swedish customs in April and wear the "hunny" loving bear's trademark red shirt, according to a lawsuit filed with the district court in Malmoe, 340 miles southwest of the Swedish capital, Stockholm. They also have the same eyes, ears and nose and project "the same attitude and facial expression as Winnie the Pooh," the lawsuit said. Disney sued the importer, Malmoe-based Harle-quin Trade, to prevent the bears from being sold in Sweden, but the issue could be solved outside of court if the importer agreed to destroy the bears, attorney Ann-Charlotte Soederlund said. "Destroying teddy bears might seem a bit silly. But what if it's a pirate copy and it's dangerous and some child dies? Then Disney will be blamed," she said. Harlequin Trade president Hans Brefelt declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said his company had a "mutual understanding" with Disney. According to the lawsuit, Harlequin Trade reached a set-tlement with Disney earlier this year after trying to import alleged replicas of two other characters in the be-loved children's' stories created by British author A. A. Milne in the 1920s — Piglet and Eeyore.
Disney Sues Over Teddy Bears
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) -- The Walt Disney Co. has sued a Swedish importer for copyright infringement and requested the destruction of 25,000 teddy bears it says are illegal replicas of Winnie the Pooh. The stuffed bears, which were made in China, were intercepted by Swedish customs in April and wear the "hunny" loving bear's trademark red shirt, according to a lawsuit filed with the district court in Malmoe, 340 miles southwest of the Swedish capital, Stockholm. They also have the same eyes, ears and nose and project "the same attitude and facial expression as Winnie the Pooh," the lawsuit said. Disney sued the importer, Malmoe-based Harle-quin Trade, to prevent the bears from being sold in Sweden, but the issue could be solved outside of court if the importer agreed to destroy the bears, attorney Ann-Charlotte Soederlund said. "Destroying teddy bears might seem a bit silly. But what if it's a pirate copy and it's dangerous and some child dies? Then Disney will be blamed," she said. Harlequin Trade president Hans Brefelt declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said his company had a "mutual understanding" with Disney. According to the lawsuit, Harlequin Trade reached a set-tlement with Disney earlier this year after trying to import alleged replicas of two other characters in the be-loved children's' stories created by British author A. A. Milne in the 1920s — Piglet and Eeyore.