Late New York television and film producer Stephen Slesinger who held the exclusive merchandising rights to Winnie the Pooh works had transferred them to Disney in 1969 for a regular royalty, reports The Daily Express.
However, Slesinger's heirs slapped a 1.3-billion-pound copyright violation case on Disney in 1991, alleging that Stephen Slesinger Inc has been deprived of its royalties to the loved bear.
Now, a U.S. court has ruled that Stephen Slesinger Inc. did not have any rights that Disney could breach.