AFP reports that Disney has issued a statement concerning the South African family demanding royalties from the song The Lion Sleeps Tonight, used in the film and stage musical The Lion King. The statement said “as a company built on the strength of its creative content, The Walt Disney Company takes all matters of copyright ownership seriously. To the extent that a copyright ownership issue exists in this case, it should be taken up with Abilene Music Publishers from which the rights to The Lion Sleeps Tonight were properly licensed and which the US courts have now twice confirmed to be the lawful owner of the copyright in that composition”.