I just found out Disney was sued. A comedy writer known by Buddy Sheffield, sued the Disney Co. on Thursday. Allefing breach of contract, breach of confidence, unfair competition, and also unjustly enrichment. It was over the ever so popular show - Disney Channels, Hannah Montana. The Plaintiff said that Disney Stole the idea of the show, and it was originally his idea. The Plantiff stated that He pitched the idea, for a show called "Rock and Roland" He gave the Idea To Disney Channel in 2001. It was about a Young Student who lead a secret identity of a Rock Star. When he sent in the ideas to Disney, They liked it, but didn't go anywhere with it. Soon enough came Hannah Montana, which is about a Teenage Girl, secretly a famous Pop Star.. Then came the law suits. Since it became so popular, and a World Wide craze, with merchandise. cd's dvds concerts, need i go on..Sheffield wants a share of the revenue.
More coming soon, just found out this very second

who's The Plaintiff???

Oh wow, sounds like another Pooh case.

I'm sure that you know this, but persons bring up lawsuits against Disney on a weekly basis.

wow... probably just for money..... who knows

i have a question, Can you post a link to were you found this info?

~smalld

I edited the post with more information.

Yes, I do know Disney is sued alot. Just thought this was more of a bigger deal then most of them, since it's about a show we all know and most us love. Plus it made the news..

It was on the Florida news.

Curious...very curious.

:wand2:Linny

I edited the post with more information.

Yes, I do know Disney is sued alot. Just thought this was more of a bigger deal then most of them, since it's about a show we all know and most us love. Plus it made the news..

It was on the Florida news.


Can you post a link where you found it?

And here is my question to the place that is sueing disney. Why are you complaning now about Hannah Montana it has been on for a few years and they are just complaing NOW! What is wrong with them :confused:

~smalld

Exciting. Wouldn't we all be depressed if it got cancelled. I would be. ):

omg! omg!!

I dont think it would. IF disney is getting sued they will fight it so... And disney kinda made it first even tho they thought of it. Disney owns the rights to it not them so they really cant do anything about it. They can try to sue them but i dont think they will.

~smalld

They shouldnt share the ideas if they dont want them used.... :l i see no point to sue :) although i dont really like the show.. kind of weird.. O_o they should put the flinstones on instead (:

I cant post a link since it was on the News.
Im sure if you google something like Hannah Montana Sued you will get something.


Its possbile it could be canceled, Hope not. I was just watching it before!

He shared the Ideas, bc he wanted disney to represent it.

It won't be cancelled due to this suit. Two sisters claim that Disney stole their father's idea for Winnie the Pooh. In their lawsuit, they wanted to retrieve the rights of all Pooh related merchendise, movies, and rides sold by TWDC. The battle has been going on for years. In the end, the two sisters never got their way.

Yes, I wont be canceled most likley, im 99.9% sure. But you can NEVER EVER be 100% sure.
If it got cancelled there would just be more problems with Crazy fans, yet alone the cast.

It won't be cancelled due to this suit. Two sisters claim that Disney stole their father's idea for Winnie the Pooh. In their lawsuit, they wanted to retrieve the rights of all Pooh related merchendise, movies, and rides sold by TWDC. The battle has been going on for years. In the end, the two sisters never got their way.

I got one word to say: haha!

If he didn't copyright it, anyone could use it. Plus, he sent it in. What a silly lad.

If he didn't copyright it, anyone could use it. Plus, he sent it in. What a silly lad.

You got a point.

And also, Disney gets sued on a regular basis, nothing they haven't come up against and won before.

Rofl... Nother story like this

It won't be cancelled due to this suit. Two sisters claim that Disney stole their father's idea for Winnie the Pooh. In their lawsuit, they wanted to retrieve the rights of all Pooh related merchendise, movies, and rides sold by TWDC. The battle has been going on for years. In the end, the two sisters never got their way.

The daughters of A.A. Milne didnt sue because they thought Disney stole their idea of Winnie The Pooh, His widow sold the option to the rights to Disney. They sued because Disney was not reporting accurratly the profits of the merchandise that they were entitled to a percentage of.

I just found out Disney was sued. A comedy writer known by Buddy Sheffield, sued the Disney Co. on Thursday. Allefing breach of contract, breach of confidence, unfair competition, and also unjustly enrichment. It was over the ever so popular show - Disney Channels, Hannah Montana. The Plaintiff said that Disney Stole the idea of the show, and it was originally his idea. The Plantiff stated that He pitched the idea, for a show called "Rock and Roland" He gave the Idea To Disney Channel in 2001. It was about a Young Student who lead a secret identity of a Rock Star. When he sent in the ideas to Disney, They liked it, but didn't go anywhere with it. Soon enough came Hannah Montana, which is about a Teenage Girl, secretly a famous Pop Star.. Then came the law suits. Since it became so popular, and a World Wide craze, with merchandise. cd's dvds concerts, need i go on..Sheffield wants a share of the revenue.
More coming soon, just found out this very second

All i can say is Lol.

It probably won't get canceled. *cough*Iwish*cough*

Hmm... Typical Story.

I'd say that just about every day Disney gets sued for Something, and this one doesn't sound promising to me =/

XxChrisssy

Probably some nut-case who wants money. Unless he has proof that he thought of the show, like some sort of document thats signed or anything, hes just going to be embarrassed after being proven wrong.

He needs to get a life... People need to stop sueing Disney for no reason and get a life.

And what if Disney did copy?

And what if Disney did copy?If it was copyrighted, that's called "illegal."

Just for everyone's information, lawsuits against Disney are filed on average once a day. Few win.

All entertainment companies are sued over almost every show, successful or not. That's why those companies never accept script or story submissions from anyone - you must go through an agent. Anyone can claim they came up with an idea first, but if the companies don't accept anything without an agent, those people cannot say the company actually saw the idea and the suit is dismissed.

Even if someone used an agent, they need tons of corroborating evidence, such as a copyright, solidly dated notes, or things of that sort.

If this writer is telling the truth, and Disney knows it, chances are Disney will settle out of court. If not, then it's up to a judge to decide . . . not anyone here.

I hope Hannah Montana isn't canceled!

Exciting. Wouldn't we all be depressed if it got cancelled. I would be. ):

well has anyone heard any news about the new hannah montana thats supposed to be out this friday?....


i stay in touch with my inner rockstar show <3

uhm well.
if he sent in the idea disney would be using it.
but its kinda funny how its like such the same.
not like funny..HAHA
but like funny weird.

im gonna stop writing now before i confuse peoples =o

uhm well.
if he sent in the idea disney would be using it.
but its kinda funny how its like such the same.
not like funny..HAHA
but like funny weird.

im gonna stop writing now before i confuse peoples =o

I doubt he sent it in to Disney.

Wow!

I hope Hannah Montana isn't taken off TV!

I Like that show :(

~Kayla

Wow!

I hope Hannah Montana isn't taken off TV!

I Like that show :(

~Kayla
I know! it's my fave show next to Prison Break!!! ( lol prison break is a good show)

If he never sent it in to the company, they woudnt be going to court.

Don't worry guys. Hannah Montana isn't going to go off the air. this guy should off reported this when it first started not now when it is in the middle of the second season. Disney gets sued all the time for stupid stuff (well some not so stupid like death on rides) but the Disney Company is still open and fine.

interesting..

Don't worry guys. Hannah Montana isn't going to go off the air. this guy should off reported this when it first started not now when it is in the middle of the second season. Disney gets sued all the time for stupid stuff (well some not so stupid like death on rides) but the Disney Company is still open and fine.

sorry i didn;t understand what you mostly said. nothing would happen to the disney company, and it can't really "close." lol. and they can sue whenever they want. maybe a grown man doesnt like to watch disney channel?

LOL i think the story of winnie the pooh is quite amusing... since disney got Winnie the Pooh from a book (i forgot the author >_<) but he wrote about his son and his imaginary friends. actually winnie the pooh was a disney character before mickey mouse

disney probably made the other guy's idea better anyways ;)

Don't worry guys. Hannah Montana isn't going to go off the air. this guy should off reported this when it first started not now when it is in the middle of the second season. Disney gets sued all the time for stupid stuff (well some not so stupid like death on rides) but the Disney Company is still open and fine.

It takes awhile to file a lawsuit.

It takes awhile to file a lawsuit.

yes, but 2 years?

LOL, I think JEM should sue too!

There was to be some evidence that he either talked to someone or submitted work to Disney that was similiar enough for this to even have been approved to go to court. He had to have found a lawyer that believed him and filed the suit. It may have taken him 2 years just to find a lawyer willing to represent him. Legal issues take a LONG time to go through.

yes, but 2 years?Yes! It can take even longer than two years.

You have no idea how complicated the process is. Any number of things go on before the suit is filed. For example, there's a good chance Disney tried negotiating first, and when that dragged on, the person finally filed.

Short answer: two years before suing is typical.

LOL i think the story of winnie the pooh is quite amusing... since disney got Winnie the Pooh from a book (i forgot the author >_<) but he wrote about his son and his imaginary friends. actually winnie the pooh was a disney character before mickey mouse

Wrong, Disney didnt get the rights to Winnie the Pooh till 1961.

I want some comedy...they need to film the court sessions!
Lol...its not like he will every win!

Omg...if Hannah Montana got canceled I would literally cry!! Lol I totally love the show..

Exciting. Wouldn't we all be depressed if it got cancelled. I would be. ):

I'd be have a party Hannah Montana is annoying....:cool:

I'd be have a party Hannah Montana is annoying....:cool:
I second that.

haha, true:wave2:

than why did a staff member in dlr tell me and many other people that winnie the pooh is the oldest disney character??? sorry but i believe a staff member..

Well serves them right... I think... I hope it gets cancled but i hope it doesn't. Im pretty sure it won't get cancled tho. No wait scratch that. I doubt it'll get cancled. Grrr... scratch that. [4"]It better get cancled!![/4"]

Well serves them right... I think... I hope it gets cancled but i hope it doesn't. Im pretty sure it won't get cancled tho. No wait scratch that. I doubt it'll get cancled. Grrr... scratch that. [4"]It better get cancled!![/4"]

How would it serve them right? They didn't steel the idea. They get tons of these every week. People are just trying to make a quick dollar. Even if they did steel it, he should of had it copyrighted. Anybody could take it then without getting charged a few thousand in court. He would never make it in the big-time business world.

than why did a staff member in dlr tell me and many other people that winnie the pooh is the oldest disney character??? sorry but i believe a staff member..

You need to look it up for yourself. Pooh was created in 1926 but was not a disney charactor till 1961. Some time you should check the facts your self.

I want some comedy...they need to film the court sessions!
Lol...its not like he will every win!

Well, the reason they don't film court sessions is for that exact reason; court isn't entertainment! It's very serious!

B: If all we have heard here is true (Likely not, but let's go with that scenario), The guy has no reason to sue, because his idea isn't trademarked, copyrighted, or "Rights reserved"

For people who are talkin' 'bout the Pooh case, Winnie the Pooh wasn't even created by Disney.
It was originally a book, right?

For people who are talkin' 'bout the Pooh case, Winnie the Pooh wasn't even created by Disney.
It was originally a book, right?

True, just like how 'Walt didnt make mickey, he bought him. but lets not get into that right now, it will just start a rant with people who know what really happened and people who just think they do =\

Well i dont like Hannah Montana or High School Musical, too dumb if you ask me.

The "Newer" disney stuff just.. stinks.. o.o

For people who are talkin' 'bout the Pooh case, Winnie the Pooh wasn't even created by Disney.
It was originally a book, right?

Winnie The Pooh was written by A.A. Milne in 1926 ,Disney obtained the rights to use the charactor in 1961.Its just so associated with Disney that people come to the assumption that it is a Disney created Charactor.

than why did a staff member in dlr tell me and many other people that winnie the pooh is the oldest disney character??? sorry but i believe a staff member..You should not believe everything Cast Members tell you.

Many of them are little older than you, and most know nothing other than how to run the cash register or the attraction they are assigned to. But many like to boast that they have insider information they honestly don't.

However.

What is real here depends on how you word it. If you consider "Disney Characters" characters that Disney has animated but not created themselves, then I can see where one could argue that since Pooh was created in 1926, and Mickey in 1928, then Pooh is older than Mickey and is therefore the oldest.

But when you put it that way, you run into an awful lot of trouble, because I can then bring up characters like Peter Pan, Wendy, and Captain Hook, all created in 1904.That makes them older than Pooh.

Ah, I hear you say, what about Pinocchio? Quite right, I say. He was written in 1881. So he's older.

But then I bring up Alice, The Cheshire Cat, The White Rabbit - who were created in 1862.

And on we go until we hit Hercules, who was created during the time of the ancient Greeks, same as Bacchus, the centaurs, and the pegasi. No, wait . . . there are dinosaurs in Fantasia, too.

I say we define a Disney Character as an animated character as imagined by the Disney People (Walt or otherwise) regardless of their earlier lives.

That makes the oldest Disney Character: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

than why did a staff member in dlr tell me and many other people that winnie the pooh is the oldest disney character??? sorry but i believe a staff member..

there are more staff atwalt disney world and walt disney who evon says so. not to be rude but have they ever seen the show at WDW: One mans dream? ordid some of it some cut out, or did the t.v be wrong, or did WDW be wrong Or did all the disney expertsbe wrong to? omg that mean alot of ppl arew wrong but wait! phoo was made when coler was around and mickey when there wasent in steam bot willly. back ad white is older then coler, however idont reall know and care but whatever the awnser is it dosent really matter and leow y im not sure ur right, on the one mans dream thing at walt disney world it say he was on a train doeling and found out mickey mouse, or are they trying to make it sound like he made him? hmm, evey one some questions to think about disney!

That makes the oldest Disney Character: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
Well... if you eant to get technical, Oswald was created by Walt Disney, but not in his own company. So when Walt branched out Oswald was still Trade Marked and all that good stuff to the other company. So Oswald had to stay with the other company. So the First official character under the Disney name was:

Alice
From the Alice comedy series in 1923 Mickey wasn't created until 1928 :D

Well... if you eant to get technical, Oswald was created by Walt Disney, but not in his own company. So when Walt branched out Oswald was still Trade Marked and all that good stuff to the other company. So Oswald had to stay with the other company. So the First official character under the Disney name was:

Alice
From the Alice comedy series in 1923 Mickey wasn't created until 1928 :DI considered that. Can't include Alice.

She wasn't animated.

And Oswald was a Disney creation - introduced in an Alice Comedy and was the first "named" animal, making him the first Disney Character.

Universal owned the character only because they put up the money to produce the Oswald shorts, and they retained the rights in the contract. But he was a Disney character nonetheless, and since The Walt Disney Company retrieved the rights from Universal last year, he is now officially a Disney character again.

So I stand by my analysis. The first true Disney animated character is Oswald.

And what does all this have to do with Hanna Montana?

We need to get back to the subject, or I need to start removing posts.

Would working at disneyland stink?
Cause it seems like it..
Like my mom said pay isnt good but still..its working at disneyland..

But anyways

Most cases get thrown out right? Why didnt this one?

yep i found lots of articles about it. very interesting.

If he didn't copyright it, anyone could use it. Plus, he sent it in. What a silly lad.

Oh. Contrair. Any ideas that someone made are copyrighted already. You don't have to go somewhere to get it offically copyrighted. When you write it down, it is already copyrighted.

This Happened with Finding Nemo,too. Not suprised tho..

Oh. Contrair. Any ideas that someone made are copyrighted already. You don't have to go somewhere to get it offically copyrighted. When you write it down, it is already copyrighted.First, it's "au contraire" - a French term meaning on the contrary.

Second, speaking as a published writer, you could not be more wrong about this statement. Just because you wrote it down does not mean, in any way, shape, or form, that it is copyrighted.

Copyright is officially handled by specific groups within each country. In the U.S., this is handled by the United States Copyright Office, an arm of the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. There are specified steps to take to copyright your material through this office, and only when accepted by that group is your work copyrighted.

Some suggest that you can "self copyright" by sending the materials to yourself or a designee using a certified envelope that is never opened unless required during litigation, but that does not always work in the eyes of the law.

You can also do something called proclaiming "serial rights" by placing that at the top of every page of your manuscript, but frankly it's a bogus thing to try.

Nope. The only way to copyright something in this country is to go through the United States Copyright Office, and that is that. Period.

Just writing something down does absolutely nothing.

Well if someone steals something you wrote it is still breaking copyright laws.

Well if someone steals something you wrote it is still breaking copyright laws.No it isn't.

If someone knowingly steals something you wrote, it's morally wrong. But if you did not copyright it through the Copyright Office, then that person did not break any copyright laws.

And if you cannot prove to a judge or jury that you wrote it first, then that other person will not be found to have broken any laws at all.

I edited the post with more information.

Yes, I do know Disney is sued alot. Just thought this was more of a bigger deal then most of them, since it's about a show we all know and most us love. Plus it made the news..

It was on the Florida news.

I know and love all of Disney. This isn't big news.

I know and love all of Disney. This isn't big news.

What does that have to do with anything?
I just posted it becuase Hannah Montana is a huge craze, plus it's an interesting topic.
Gosh . :rolleyes:

Yeah, like me!!! I AM A CRAZY FAN! EEEEP! If they canceled Hannah Montana I would probably protest!!! Down with, uhh, the person/people who sued!!!


:ThumbsDown::ThumbsDown::ThumbsDown: and a :RedFaced: to them too!!!

i heard about this a long time ago.. i don't blame him for suing.. How would you feel if you did something amazing and somebody else took credit for it..

Disney gets sued quite often...
They get sued for injuries and deaths at their parks...
They were sued by the person who claimed to invent the "FastPass" system...
They've been sued for banning Segways from their parks...
They've been sued for Pooh royalties...
They've been sued for copyright infringement for :
-- Nemo
-- Peter Pan
-- Switched & Switched Up
-- the Incredible's Logo
-- Hannah Montana
-- Who Framed Roger Rabbit
-- Wild Hogs (by Hel's Angels of all folks)

The list goes on and on for suits against Disney. Of course the suits started by Disney isn't exactly short either... My point is this happens to every media company. The question is, should/do they win or lose.

For the record, Disney, in my personal opinion, has a long record of pirating other people's works. If you want a blatent example which was never litigated, look up "Kimba" and "Lion King" and see if someone at Disney simply rewrote existing work with new animation and a few minor changes.

Basically, everyone is trying to make Disney unpopular.

My grandfather always says to me,
"It's not easy being a star, because everyone tries to make you fall..."

In the entertainment industry, we all steal from other people. When was the last time you saw a completely original piece of work? In some way every story now being told, has been told before by someone else. As far as copyright goes, you do have to go through the Copyright Office. The rules have also been changed to were you hold the copyright for your lifetime plus 10 years. I think it's 10 years. After that it goes into public domain for anyone to use. If anyone here is looking at copyrighting something, do your homework to make sure nobody else is using the same stuff.

No it isn't.

If someone knowingly steals something you wrote, it's morally wrong. But if you did not copyright it through the Copyright Office, then that person did not break any copyright laws.

Well, that's not exactly correct... Absence of a copyright notice does not mean that the work is not covered by copyright. The creator of an original work instantaneously possesses its copyright when that work is created through "mental labor" and "fixed" in tangible form. Thus, a natural copyright exists from the time a work is invented or created, regardless of whether it has been registered with a particular Copyright Office.

The following comes directly from the USA Government website regarding copyright No publication or registration or other action in the Copyright Office is required to secure copyright. There are, however, certain definite advantages to registration.

Copyright is secured automatically when the work is created, and a work is “created” when it is fixed in a copy or phonorecord for the first time. “Copies” are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm. “Phonorecords” are material objects embodying fixations of sounds (excluding, by statutory definition, motion picture soundtracks), such as cassette tapes, CDs, or LPs. Thus, for example, a song (the “work”) can be fixed in sheet music (“copies”) or in phonograph disks (“phonorecords”), or both. If a work is prepared over a period of time, the part of the work that is fixed on a particular date constitutes the created work as of that date.

People just can't resist suing Disney. Noone hardly ever succeeds, but I guess they have to try.
They didn't have a problem when their films were about fairey tales. Public Domain. The whole Lion King thing was very disallusional for me.

Honestly, I think Hannah Montana is a copy of Secrets of My Hollywood Life.