Not so Magical Kingdom: Disney’s copyright problems

Sep 19, 2017

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Thank you Bhavini Mistry again for your diligent research and contribution.

The world of Disney is not always as magical as it appears to be. Earlier this month, a child development expert named Denise Daniels filed a copyright lawsuit against Disney for copying her idea of Inside Out, which is now an Oscar-winning film. Daniels pitched her idea of the film as “The Moodsters” repeatedly between 2005 to 2009. The issue at hand is that Daniels claimed that she had a “implied-in- fact” contract which was a nonverbal agreement that stated Disney was required to give credit to Daniels and pay her if they decide to use her idea.
As expected, the Magic Kingdom is denying these charges by Daniels where they claim that Inside Out was Pixar’s original idea. On another note, this past March, Disney is also being sued for a similar case by Gary Goldman, a screenwriter, who claims that Disney stole Zootopia, another Oscar-winning animated film, from him since he pitched that same title and concept to them twice and was rejected both times. Disney states that this is just Goldman’s way of getting credit for a successful film. Both lawsuits are still ongoing and waiting to be resolved. These cases are not uncommon in Tinseltown, where every guy in the street is a director, actor and screen actor in waiting. Most studios make you sign a release where you promise not to make any claims in the future, just to give you an audience with them. Contact me before sharing any of your ideas, or inventions with anybody to make sure you have the right type of protections in place!!!

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