BL10: Finding and Describing a Copyright, Licensing or Intellectual Property Dispute Case in the Film, TV, Games or Multimedia Industry

Search Strategy-->

http://news.bbc.co.uk --> searched for intellectual property dispute case and browsed links of interest.

The Pooh rights case-->

Walt Disney claims to have worldwide rights to Winnie the Pooh and other AA Milne storybook characters.The corporation said it had won the support of the heirs of AA Milne and illustrator EH Shepherd. The deal apparently gave it exclusive worldwide rights, thanks to changes in copyright law that allow heirs to renegotiate intellectual property agreements. But the announcement was rejected out of hand by lawyers for Stephen Slesinger Inc, which signed an agreement to buy the rights to Pooh in 1929, before licensing them to Disney in 1961.

Consequences-->

Stephen Slesinger Inc sued Disney in 1991, for as much $1bn in royalties and unspecified punitive damages.

Key Features -->

“Disney claims that, under United States law - and the 1998 Copyright Extension Act specifically - a new agreement granting all rights to Disney could be negotiated. The act requires the heirs of the creators of works to give two years' notice to people granted copyright rights, which is why the new agreement begins in 2004.”

Visited:3/12/06

The End