$1.5 Million in Damages Sought : Company Alleges Disney Copied Marquee Design

Would Mickey Mouse steal a sign?

General Display Corp. of Salt Lake City apparently thinks so. The firm has filed a $1.5-million lawsuit against the Walt Disney Co. alleging that the marquee recently installed at Disneyland’s front entrance was illegally copied from one designed by General Display.

Disneyland this week replaced the blue and white sign that has welcomed patrons to the Magic Kingdom for 30 years. It was replaced by a high-tech version that is one-third larger and features fiber-optic lights that can flash images, traffic instructions or messages about the park.

In their lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City, General Display said the Walt Disney Co. asked the company in July, 1986, to design a new marquee and give a bid for design, engineering and construction. Under the written contract, General Design was not to be paid unless Disney used its work.

General Design came up with drawings and a three-dimensional model of the marquee and was notified that it would be awarded the contract, according to the lawsuit. But two years later, Disney told the firm that its bid had been rejected and that another company would be chosen to design and build the new sign, according to the complaint.

Instead, Disney made “minor cosmetic modifications” to the copyrighted marquee design, then had it built by another firm, the lawsuit states.

A Disneyland spokesman declined comment on the lawsuit.

The lawsuit asks for $500,000 in damages for breach of contract and copyright violations and $1 million in punitive damages for alleged fraud and conversion.