Word: pooh
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...letter from leaders of the Tanzim faction of Fatah proclaiming the intent to pursue a unilateral cease-fire was published in the Israeli media this week. Although it was pooh-poohed by the security establishment and its purported cease-fire initiative suspended after the Gaza air raid, it contains some words that may soon begin to resonate with people on both sides of the divide: "Our hotels are empty, our restaurants deserted, our factories closed, our businesses bankrupt, and our children hungry... You can survive, for a time, with ten percent inflation, and growing unemployment, and an army of young...
...didn't have enough problems with a soft ad market and a sinking stock price, the Walt Disney Co. has revealed to shareholders that it may owe several hundred million dollars because of a silly old bear. In 1961 Disney licensed certain rights to the character of Winnie-the-Pooh from literary agent Stephen Slesinger, who had acquired U.S. merchandising rights from A.A. Milne, author of the books featuring Pooh and Christopher Robin. That contract made no mention of videotapes, computer games or DVDs--because such uses either didn't exist or weren't widespread when the deal was made...
...though, Disney's sales of Pooh products, including videos, DVDs and interactive storybooks, bring in more than $4 billion a year, making Pooh the most popular Disney character, ahead of even Mickey, according to lawyers for the heirs of Slesinger, now deceased. Disney denies that math, but the heirs are suing for back royalties of $500 million to $1 billion and unspecified punitive damages. They even want a share of profits from theme-park rides like Pooh's Honey Hunt in Tokyo...
Disney claims that it owes no royalties to Slesinger because the new uses of Pooh are included in film rights, which it licenses directly from Milne's estate. A judge and jury will decide who is right when the case comes to trial in Los Angeles next year...
...huge problem and will continue to be a huge problem," says Lanning Bryer, a lawyer at the New York City firm Ladas & Perry, which specializes in intellectual-property cases. "The game is to keep everyone else off the golden apple for as long as possible." Or, as in the Pooh case, to keep them off the golden honeypot...