The Pooh Files, Joe Shea, Albion Monitor
A family that has been trying to sue Disney for back-royalty payments may finally get their day in court, reports Joe Shea of the Albion Monitor. The Slesinger family of Beverly Hills, California, owns the rights to Winnie the Pooh and other characters that contribute as much as one-fifth of the $25 billion Disney generated in 2001. Problems began as early as 1966, according to Shea, when a member of the Slesinger family started to find Pooh items in stores that were not recorded in royalty reports. Since that time, the family has spent most of the royalty money trying to collect the funds they claim Disney truly owes them. Putting an Enron-esque twist on the lawsuit is Disney’s destruction of at least 40 boxes of documents that may have provided evidence in favor of the Slesinger’s case.
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