Oh, Bother! Disney To Lose Their Exclusive Grip On Winnie The Pooh! As The Bear And His Friends Are Up For Grabs
Oh, bother.
Disney might have to share one of their most beloved characters with, well, everyone due to a pesky public domain law reported by Rolling Stone. Winnie-the-Pooh, which was written by A. A. Milne in 1926, has gone through a few iterations over the years, but the most notable would be the take Disney had on the honey loving bear.
According to USA Today, Disney got the film rights for the story through Milne's estate in 1961 and has made him their own ever since. But with the character going into public domain, The House Of Mouse will have to share the rights to the beloved characters of the Hundred Acre Wood, sort of.
Most Disney characters fall under a trademark called "The Mickey Mouse Protection Act." This is not the case with the original story, however, leaving them to only have the rights to the likenesses of the characters unique to Disney. Thus, leaving other creatives to be able to make their own versions as long as they don't resemble the Disney specific drawings.
In a strange twist to the story, the character of Tigger is still under Disney's thumb. Given that the character of Tigger was not actually a character in the Pooh-a-verse until he was introduced by Milne in 1928, Disney still has creative control over him for a while longer.
So, what does this mean for future Winnie-the-Pooh projects? Anything really. If someone wanted to have the characters, say, live in Central Park and get into gritty adventures throughout New York City while in search of the best pizza slice, they could do just that. But we can only hope that maybe there are some creators who, if they decide to take the denizens of Pooh Corner in a new direction, their vision doesn't become some over-the-top fiasco just for the sake of being edgy. Only time will tell.
