WINNIE THE POOH - MILNE'S GRANDDAUGHTER FAILS IN POOH LAWSUIT

WINNIE THE POOH author AA MILNE's granddaughter has failed in her bid to wrestle control of the rights to the children's book from licensee STEPHEN SLESINGER. Slesinger, who worked as a producer in New York City, obtained the rights following an agreement with AA MILNE in 1930, before signing over the rights along with Milne's widow to Disney in 1961. A subsequent 1983 agreement reassigned the rights to Slesinger's widow and daughter. CLAIRE MILNE's lawsuit, which was filed in 2002, sought to terminate the agreement with the Slesinger family and hand them to Disney. But the US Supreme Court in Los Angeles declined to even hear the case, ruling that she could not void the 1983 agreement.