Winnie the Pooh Copyrights Remain With Disney
Disney was recently successful in fending off litigation surrounding rights in one of its most popular characters: Winnie the Pooh. Stephen Slesinger, Inc. (SSI) acquired copyrights in the Winnie the Pooh in 1930. In 1961 and 1983, SSI licensed its exclusive rights in the character to the Walt Disney Company. Later, Disney was named a counter-defendant in a thirteen-year rights dispute involving SSI and the estate of Winnie the Pooh creator A. A. Milne. After unsuccessfully suing Disney for royalties in California state court, SSI brought a federal action for various claims, including copyright and trademark infringement. In a September 25, 2009 opinion by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, it washeld that SSI assigned all of its rights in Winnie the Pooh to Disney and, as a result, there as no basis for any of its intellectual property claims.