After an 18-year feud, the fate of a very important bear has been settled. The Walt Disney corporation has fought off a challenge to its ownership of the rights to Winnie the Pooh and his lucrative fellow characters in Hundred Acre Wood.
A judge in Los Angeles has struck out a claim against Disney lodged by the family of Stephen Slesinger, a comic book pioneer who bought the copyright to Pooh in 1930 from the bear's British creator, A.A. Milne.
After Slesinger's death in 1953, his widow licensed the rights to Disney in return for regular royalties – but the family sued in 1991, claiming to have been short-changed by Disney. The Slesingers demanded damages of $2bn (£1.25bn).
Exploiting Pooh is a highly profitable business. Disney has featured Pooh in movies, books, DVDs, games and even as a computer screensaver. The self-described 'bear of very little brain' is one of the most valuable franchises in the Disney stable.
The Slesingers had accused Disney of breach of contract, alleging that the Californian media conglomerate failed to disclose accurate royalty figures for sales of merchandise and that Pooh revenue was intermingled with earnings from characters such as Mickey Mouse.
But judge Florence-Marie Cooper found misconduct on the part of the Slesinger estate which, at one point during the lengthy dispute, hired a private detective who was accused of going through rubbish bins at Disney's headquarters in the hope of obtaining documents.
"Stephen Slesinger Inc transferred all of its rights in the Pooh works to Disney, and may not now claim infringement of any retained rights," said the judge's ruling.
Disney declared itself "pleased" with the outcome. Stephen Slesinger's daughter, Patricia Slesinger, told the Los Angeles Times: "Judge Florence Cooper provided a potential and an elegant middle-ground solution that will allow us to go forward with our business relationship – hopefully without more litigation." Stories of Pooh's adventures were originally created by Milne in the 1920s, based on a toy bear owned by the author's son, Christopher Robin. The legal battle with Disney was settled amid preparations for the publication of the first authorised sequel to Milne's books for 80 years. The new work, Return to Hundred Acre Wood by David Benedictus, will reach bookshops in early October.