Yahoo! Finance indicates that the U.S. District Court, Central District of California yesterday issued an important decision in the ongoing Federal copyright case between Disney and Stephen Slesinger, Inc., among others, in which the heirs of A. A. Milne and Ernest H. Shepard are seeking to terminate the rights of Slesinger to the Winnie the Pooh franchise and regrant such rights to Disney. The Federal Court’s decision allows Slesinger to plead claims against Disney for causing the heirs’ attempted termination of Slesinger’s rights. Moreover, Slesinger has been given the right to seek remedies from Disney that include the termination of all of Disney’s future rights to exploit Winnie the Pooh characters. As the most profitable of all the characters Disney markets, Pooh is estimated to be worth between $3 billion and $6 billion in annual revenues to Disney, representing 15 to 20% of the company’s business.
Court rules Stephen Slesinger, Inc. allowed to plead claims against Disney