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Pooh Copyright Fight Deals Blow to Disney

By GARY GENTILE
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A federal court judge has denied an attempt by the granddaughter of Winnie the Pooh creator A.A. Milne to reclaim the family's copyrights and reassign them to The Walt Disney Co.

The ruling is a setback for Disney, which has been fighting a 12-year battle with a company that claims Disney has shortchanged them millions in royalties from the sale of Pooh merchandise in North America.

Last November, Clare Milne, who lives in England, notified Disney and Stephen Slesinger Inc., the company that owns the North American merchandising rights, that she intended to reclaim all copyrights. A similar notice was filed by the granddaughter of Pooh illustrator E. H. Shepard.

Milne and Shepard then struck a new deal giving all rights to Disney, beginning in 2004.

But U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled Friday that the provision of U.S. copyright law that Milne relied on does not apply to the case, and that the family's right to reclaim the copyright to four children's books were lost when Milne's son, Christopher Robin Milne, declined to exercise those rights in the 1980s.

Friday's ruling does not apply to Shepard's copyrights. That issue still remains to be resolved in federal court.

``It's just a huge victory for the Slesingers,'' said Bertram Fields, an attorney representing SSI in its royalty fight against Disney. ``Disney scraped the bottom with this attempt to cut the Slesingers out.''

Disney said it will appeal.

``The issue decided by the federal court is one of first impressions regarding a recent amendment to the copyright statutes,'' said Daniel Petrocelli, an attorney representing Disney. ``This is an issue that the 9th Circuit and perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court will have to resolve once and for all.''

Friday's ruling has no immediate effect on SSI's lawsuit, filed in 1991, alleging that Disney miscalculated royalties due from the sale of Pooh dolls, books and other merchandise.

The lawsuit also claims that millions of dollars of additional royalties are due for Pooh videos, DVDs, computer software and other electronic products not specifically covered under its deal, but promised verbally to Slesinger by Disney representatives.

Disney denies such royalties are owed.

Disney transferred the case to federal court because of the copyright issues raised after Milne filed her termination notice.

Fields said he will ask that the case be sent back to state court for trial.



05/09/03 20:38

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