Judge Finds Chink in IP Suit Over Iron Man’s Armor

On March 27, 2017, U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken dismissed in part and granted in part Walt Disney’s Marvel Entertainment’s bid to dismiss a copyright suit by Horizon Comics Productions Inc. over Iron Man’s body armor design. The lawsuit commenced in April 2015 by Horizon’s owners Ben and Ray Lai, who claimed Iron Man’s armor was based upon their 2001 comic book series Radix. In addition, the Lai brothers claimed that Marvel’s promotional poster for Iron Man 3 copied a promotional piece of …

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Those “Bare Necessities” — Heirs of Jungle Book Songwriter Seek Royalties From Disney’s VHS and DVD Sales

Children of the late Terry Gilkyson, a folk singer and composer, plead with a California appeals court Thursday to revive their lawsuit against two factions of the Walt Disney Company. The plaintiffs claim Disney owes the estate years of royalties due to their father’s deal with the company — Gilkyson wrote the “Bare Necessities” song for the 1967 movie classic, The Jungle Book.

Gilkyson’s heirs commenced the lawsuit in Texas state court during July 2013. The plaintiffs claim the estate is owed royalties, pursuant …

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Dreyfuss Wants Disney to Open Its Books

On April 9, Richard Dreyfuss filed suit against Walt Disney Pictures claiming that Disney has wrongfully refused him access to its books.  The Oscar winner says he wants to know if Disney owes him money for his work in What About Bob?.

In the seven count complaint, Dreyfuss and Turner & Hooch producer Raymond Wagner’s widow contend, among other things, that Disney has breached their contracts by refusing them the opportunity to audit the books.  The pair claims that Disney will not allow …

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