Disney Setback in S. Africa

Walt Disney Co. failed in a bid Tuesday to overturn a South African court order barring it from selling the local rights to trademarks such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck pending the resolution of a dispute over the song “The Lion Sleeps Tonight.”

Judge Hekkie Daniels of the Pretoria High Court rejected Disney’s application seeking the dismissal of the $1.5-million claim by the family of the song’s original composer, South African migrant worker Solomon Linda.

Linda’s family is suing the Burbank-based entertainment company for unauthorized use of the song in the stage and screen versions of “The Lion King.”

Daniels found that on its face, “a case was made out for copyright infringement,” attorneys for the family said.

Disney said the court’s refusal to release its trademarks in South Africa was “disappointing.”

The dispute centers on Abilene Music Publishing, which Disney paid to use the song, and the Linda family.

“The real issue in this lawsuit is whether the estate of Solomon Linda or Abilene Music Publishing owns the copyright to ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight,’ ” Disney said.

The family claims that the singer’s estate owns the copyright to the pop classic, which was written by Linda in 1939 under the title “Mbube.” Linda family lawyer Owen Dean says the estate has never received its fair share of royalties from the song, which has since been recorded by more than 150 artists worldwide.

Disney says it legally licensed the song from Abilene.