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Credit: DisneyThe Walt Disney Company will be heading to court.
The Walt Disney Company is home to many popular brands, including Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, 20th Century Fox, and many others. Over the years, these brands have provided timeless content in the form of movies and television shows that still remain some of the most popular in the world.
In addition, the company is home to many Disney Parks– located at Walt Disney World Resort, Disneyland Resort, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, Shanghai Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland– that are visited by millions of Disney Park Guests each and every year.
While Disney is known for many of its groundbreaking ideas and entertaining content that has stood the test of time, it seems that one idea might be up for discussion.
According to reports from Reuters, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld said in an opinion published earlier this week that Jeffrey Scott had “made a plausible case for copyright infringement and other claims stemming from Disney’s alleged failure to pay him for using his scripts and other material from the original show.”
Scott, a writer for the 1980 show Muppet Babies claims The Walt Disney Company misused his work for a 2018 reboot of the animated series.
In a lawsuit filed this past February, Scott accused Disney of ripping off his scripts and “production bible,” which included the “foundational elements” of the original show. Scott also alleges that he met with Disney in 2016, where he offered ideas for the reboot that Disney eventually used, but that the company never paid him or acknowledged him for his work.
Stephen Rothschild, an attorney representing Scott and his bankruptcy trustee Howard Ehrenberg, said that his clients were “grateful for the Court’s thoughtful dismantling of Disney’s specious arguments, but disappointed that Disney continues to refuse to acknowledge and pay Mr. Scott.”
A court date has not been set for the trial has not been announced as of yet, but the decision does mean that Disney will have to defend itself unless a settlement agreement can be reached.
Inside the Magic will continue to keep you updated on this Disney lawsuit.