Disney

Disney, known formally as The Walt Disney Company is a multinational corporation whose projects span films (both live action and animated), television series, television networks, theme parks and much more. It was founded on October 16, 1923 by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy O. Disney. It is said that it "all began with a mouse" - a reference to Mickey Mouse, the company's mascot who first appeared in the company's short films.

Disney's involvement in the Winnie the Pooh franchise began in 1961 when the rights to market the characters and motion picture rights were granted to them. In later years, Disney's use of the characters would be contested, leading to several lawsuits, eventually resulting in a resolution that allowed Disney full trademark and copyright rights, so long as they paid full royalties for all future use of the characters. Pooh remains an extremely marketable character for Disney, estimated to bring in as much revenue as merchandise featuring the characters Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Pluto combined.

More to Explore

 * Disney.go.com - "The Official Homepage for All Things Disney"
 * The Walt Disney Company at Wikipedia