Disney, Pooh Case Moves Closer to Trial
A Los Angeles federal court judge has sent the 12-year-old battle over royalties from the sale of Winnie the Pooh merchandise back to a state court.
The decision places the case back on track for a trial over whether Walt Disney Co. shortchanged Stephen Slesinger Inc. on royalties due from the sale of Pooh merchandise.
The case had been transferred to federal court this year to decide whether the granddaughter of Pooh creator A.A. Milne could reclaim the copyrights from Slesinger and reassign them to Disney under the terms of a recently passed federal copyright act. But a judge ruled that the provision of U.S. copyright law that Milne relied on does not apply to the case.
From Associated Press
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