View articles by subject:
IP Resources
Marks petition leaves bear with sore head
News broke on 9 February that, in the latest round of a long-running dispute, the Stephen Slesinger film company has petitioned the USPTO to cancel Disney IP holdings related to children’s favourite, Winnie The Pooh.
The Slesinger firm grew out of a literary agency that, decades ago, licensed adaptation rights from Pooh’s original author, AA Milne. From 1930, Slesinger played a part in spreading the bear’s popularity, launching story records, radio spots and TV shows based on his adventures.
Provisions in Milne’s will dedicated character rights to his closest associates, including his family, in the mid-1950s. Slesinger’s wife, Shirley, had benefitted similarly following his death in 1953, and in 1961, she and Milne’s widow, Dorothy (aka Daphne), licensed rights to the entertainment giant, Disney. A flurry of animated films ensued, buoyed by a profusion of merchandise.
Disney has consistently defended a position of ownership based on the original licenses, but in 1991, the Slesinger production company challenged its rights. Lawsuits have flown between the two parties ever since.
Slesinger’s new petition asks the USPTO to cancel Disney’s Winnie The Pooh trademarks, preventing the company from capitalising on the brand. Slesinger states that its rival, ‘Was not the owner of the registered marks at the time that these filings were made,’ and was ‘at most only a licensee.’ On 2 February, Disney moved to block Slesinger’s action, which runs parallel to an ongoing civil suit dating back to 2002, arguing that it, ‘Raises the same issues and seeks effectively the same relief as the pending District Court action.’
According to Disney spokesman, Jonathan Friedland, Slesinger’s latest action, ‘Is by no means anything more than the “same old, same old.”’
Add to RSS: 
Add this page to:
User Comments
Post a comment
Related Articles
- Glittering Success in the Courts
Tiffany & Co., one of the largest and most prestigious luxury retailers in the world, has struck a blow against counterfeiters thanks to a Federal Court ruling in New York.
The legendary jewe…
- USPTO book campaign hits Middle East
It was reported on 14 June that The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has looked to the Middle East to launch a new book campaign designed to spread awareness of IP issues. Intellectua…
- UK-IPO encourage tomorrow’s young inventors
This week saw the launch of the UK-IPO’s ‘Cracking Ideas’ project aimed at primary school children (aged between 9 and 11) and featuring the famous animated plasticine characters, …
- Tycoon brand plan rattles Natives
Martha Stewart, the homemaking entrepreneur and presenter of her own US Apprentice series, has stirred yet more controversy with her attempt to trademark the name of her New York State neighbourhood, …
- Bad patent will 'stifle innovation', says EFF
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has launched a bid to cancel a US patent for an online music distribution tool, claiming that the key terms of the invention were disclosed and copied before t…
- JRR Tolkien's Estate Sues New Line Cinema
The family of JRR Tolkien, who present his work and interests through the Tolkien Trust, is suing New Line Cinema, alleging that it has not received any royalty payments.
The Tolkien Trust, which i…
- Humour editor pays damages on Ten years of stolen jokes
Judy Brown, a humour editor who published thousands of jokes from top comedians like Ray Leno and Rita Rudner has settled a copyright infringement case with damages expected to be in the hundreds of t…
- Gemstar-TV Guide sues Virgin Media over patent infringement
Gemstar-TV Guide International, a Los Angeles based company part owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, has begun legal proceedings in the British High Court against Virgin Media for an alleged i…
- US movie studios sue Chinese online cinema
20th Century Fox, Columbia, Disney, Paramount and Universal are suing Jeboo.com China’s largest provider of online movie content and Eastday Bar, a Internet Café chain for breaching copyr…
- Police arrest web piracy team
In an operation in Wales involving police, officials from the Intellectual Property office and the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), three people have been arrested on suspicion of involvement in a…