Disney lost the rights to Winney the Pooh?

[shakespear]

I have heard they are involved in a lawsuit to keep the rights but are not expected to win.

That is why they pushed the pooh dvd out.

What will become of the ride?

 

[Joe T.]

I am betting on a settlement. Both parties have too much to lose. Even if the original holders win the exclusive rights to the name, what do they do with it. I have to believe that Disney has the appearance of the characters well protected. So, someone would have to redesign the characters. Although the original Pooh was popular, it wasn't until Disney redesigned the character that the popularity took off. I guess I am an optimist, but I think it will work out. It will probably cost Disney a few million, but it would be worth it from a business standpoint.

 

[Another Voice]

Hmmm……


Mr. Pooh, meet Mr. Katzenberg.

Mr. Katzenberg, this is Mr. Pooh.

Winnie, look at what Jeff brought -- a really big check from Mr. Spielberg…


[Never underestimate the power of spite as a motivator in Hollywood business dealings.]

 

[HorizonsFan]

Winnie, look at what Jeff brought -- a really big check from Mr. Spielberg…

Besides a one-time lump sum, what's in it for the copyright owners? Don't they stand to make much more money from the marketing power of Disney? It seems to me that once Dreamworks got Pooh, all they could do is make a movie or two and market toys based on that whereas Disney can market merchandise in both TDS and the parks, plus make movies.
I'm not saying Dreamworks won't offer, it just doesn't make sense for the copyright owners to jump ship...

 

[YoHo]

I'm completely lost in this discussion as I've been away from the boards. I thought Disney secured the rights to all of the A.A. Milne Property in perpetuity a couple month's ago. I think I asked this before but never read the answer. what is the story here?

 

[Another Voice]

Most of the licensed properties industry sees warehouses full of unsold merchandise from ‘Pocahontas’ through to ‘Atlantis’, horrible sales at The Disney Stores and the lackluster reception of the character-branded food products as signs that “Disney’s marketing strength” is limited at best. The only line of products that maintains strong sales is the Winnie the Pooh franchise. Many people assign the success of these products to the popularity of the Pooh characters, not to any special ability on Disney’s part to sell them. In fact I’m sure the argument is going to brought out that someone else could do a much better job than Disney.

And most other companies would certainly be willing to offer much better terms than Disney for the rights. The promise of a full-budget CGI Dreamworks version of ‘Pooh’ is much more intriguing than Disney’s last attempt at splicing together some TV animation and shovel it out on video. Imagine the ratings that a Pooh series would get on Nickelodeon versus what it gets on The Disney Channel. And The Hundred Acres Wood play area would fit very easily into Universal Studios.

Mr. Yoho, we all told you that Portland would warp your mind. Disney “pre-paid” certain royalties to the U.K. holders of some of the ‘Pooh’ rights. The lawsuit concerns the rights for the characters in the United States.

 

[CM Tinkerbell]

Is it true though that if someone else gained the rights to the Pooh characters, that they would have to re-design the look of the characters? The Disney created characters are much different then the original Pooh. I wonder if this would be a problem because so many people have become so familiar with the Disney Pooh, would they be willing to accept a "new" Pooh? Most of us have grown up with Pooh as we know him today.

 

[Obi-Wan Pinobi]

Originally posted by Another Voice
Imagine the ratings that a Pooh series would get on Nickelodeon versus what it gets on The Disney Channel.

Hey, as long as it doesn't cut into Spongebob Squarepants.

Actually, another thought. I'm sure that AOL TimeWarner is chomping at the bit ready to bid on the Pooh characters should Disney lose the rights to them. No doubt that would give the Cartoon Network a ratings boost, and it would be easy to cross-license a Pooh comic book published by DC Comics.

Somehow I think all parties would come to an understanding about the character images. CM Tinkerbell has a point -- the current versions are so recognizable it might be hard for people, especially children, to accept the change.

I don't know if the Pooh characters would disappear from Disney parks immediately. Aren't Yogi Bear and the other Hanna Barbera characters still at Paramount parks like Kings Dominion and Kings Island, despite the fact that they were purchased by Turner Broadcasting, now a part of AOL TimeWarner?

 

[meowthew2]

Hey, as long as it doesn't cut into Spongebob Squarepants.

Hee hee, the best animated show on television. Wish Disney could do stuff that good.

 

[DawnCt]

Maybe if the lose Pooh, they will bring back Mr. Toad's Wild Ride; or would that be too much to hope for?

 

[HorizonsFan]

The only line of products that maintains strong sales is the Winnie the Pooh franchise. Many people assign the success of these products to the popularity of the Pooh characters, not to any special ability on Disney’s part to sell them.

Disney's marketing strength does not lie in any special ability to sell anything. It lies in the fact that millions of people visit Disney parks every day and are ready to buy character merchandise. They don't sell plushes and tshirts at movie theatres...

 

[Another Voice]

...yet there are millions of plushes in hundreds of Disney Stores located across the country, countless more in toy stores, K-Marts, and airport shops across the world.

And the number of people that wander into a Toys R Us everyday is far more substantial than those clicking through Disney's turnstiles.

 

[Galahad]

Does someone have a link to a story about the lawsuit? My understanding is that the most likely bad turnout for Disney was a large (hundreds of millions) settlement or a new royalty arangement but not a loss of the rights to the characters.

 

[larworth]

The best collection of articles I've seen is here.

poohpapers

Look in the dropdown menu for "pooh papers". I can't speak for the politics of the paper this is the only things I have read by them.

 

[CapHook]

To the average consumer, Pooh is always going to be connected to Disney. It is a somewhat unique situation.

Someone else could buy it but people will always think Disney. I still think of Sears when I see Pooh.