Disney is being taken to court once again by Winnie the Pooh, reports Orange News.
The heirs of Stephen Slesinger, the man who helped bring the honey-loving bear to life, are demanding hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid royalties from the company. Slesinger had obtained the rights to the A.A. Milne character in 1930. Following Slesinger’s death, his wife signed an agreement with Disney in 1961, transferring Pooh’s ownership.
Last September, after 18 years of legal wrangling, a judge finally ruled in favour of Disney, stating that the company had complied with the agreement contract. Now the case is being appealed. Lonnie Soury, a spokesperson for the Slesinger family, stated, "Though the decision established that Disney is the licensee, we are still owed hundreds of millions of dollars. We don’t know exactly what that figure is because Disney accounting is Hollywood accounting."
Michelle Bergman of the Disney Corporation responded, "We’ve always acknowledged that some of the rights we obtained are royalty bearing and continue to be so."
Winnie the Pooh was created in 1926 by Alan Alexander Milne.