Judge Rules Mall Must Stop Using Disney-Owned Fantasyland Name

Walt Disney Co. owns the term Fantasyland, which means an Edmonton mall must rename its theme park, a judge ruled.

The decision, handed down Tuesday in Edmonton Court of Queen’s Bench, means the West Edmonton Mall faces a multimillion-dollar bill to wipe Fantasyland off its billboards, brochures, signs and letterheads.

Disney, known for aggressively challenging unlicensed use of its characters and trademarks, had sued for $1 and a court injunction to stop the use of the term.

Disney lawyer Roger Hughes said the name Fantasyland has described areas of the company’s theme parks since Disneyland opened in 1955.

Selma Linzer, general manager of the mall, said of the decision by Justice John Dea, “Our reaction is one of utter disappointment and shock.”

Dea said executives of Triple Five Corp., which owns the mall, did not respond to Disney’s letters of protest when they opened the Canadian Fantasyland in 1983. He said that suggested they were aware that the public might wrongly associate the park with Disney.

Triple Five lawyer Hy Shandling argued that Disney never proved that people confused the two. He noted that Disney does not have a Canadian trademark on the name.