Disney Back in Court on Pooh Rights

As part of its campaign to secure more rights to the Winnie the Pooh characters, Walt Disney Co. asked a federal judge in Los Angeles to recognize the termination of U.S. copyrights held by the British descendants of the author and illustrator of the Pooh stories.

Disney is locked in a legal battle over Pooh royalties with Stephen Slesinger Inc., a firm controlled by the family of the late literary agent who secured rights to Pooh merchandise in the 1930s. Slesinger’s heirs turned over those rights to Disney decades ago for a share of Pooh merchandise sales.

Disney maintains that it would not owe royalties to the Slesingers after 2004 if U.S. copyrights were surrendered to the company by heirs of Pooh author A.A. Milne and Pooh illustrator Ernest Shepard. On Monday, Disney reached a new agreement with Clare Milne, granddaughter of A.A. Milne, and Harriet Minette Hunt, granddaughter of Shepard. “The terms are confidential,” said Disney spokesman John Spelich.

Last year, Disney paid $352 million for the remaining Pooh rights from various parties in Britain, including Clare Milne. Disney attorney Daniel Petrocelli said Clare Milne did not transfer her U.S. copyright to Disney as part of that agreement. “This was an independent right that she had under U.S. copyright law,” he said.

Attorney Bert Fields, who represents Slesinger’s family, called the new suit “a devious attempt by Disney to get out of its obligation to pay royalties that it promised under the 1983 agreement. It’s a crazy theory and it’s going to backfire.”