Epcot lawsuit *updated*

[Bstanley]

I don't mean to start a debate, but when I recently saw Oswald the Rabbit for the first time I was amazed that Walt was able to avoid getting sued when he started using Mickey. See below:

 

[Safari Steve]

In addition to the first suit having already been thrown out due to statute of limitations, the two renderings are really quite different (the castle picture analogy was very good). Additionally, there is no record or proof that there was ever a meeting to pitch the idea. I've had several ideas that later materialized in reality although I had absolutely no contact with the developers. I'd chalk this up to "great minds think alike."

 

[OnWithTheShow]

Walt actually created Oswald so I think even though he lost control of the rights it would still be a tough case to win.

 

[Bob O]

As far as im concerned if ther author felt he had been ripped off he would have sued shortly after epcot had been finished. i think this is a cynical attempt by the family to make money they dont deserve and probably assume disney will give them some money to just go away. And it seems like the lawyers are making suing disney their own industry just like the lawyers who went after the tobacco companies.

 

[Geoff_M]

Who created it doesn't matter in a court of law, who owns it does. There has been lots of people that have quit one company and then started their own company with products similar to their previous employer's that then got sued for infringement. When Walt lost control of Oswald, that intellectual property and the rights to commercially exploit it belonged to someone else.

Pavilions surrounds by bodies of water have long been a traditional design in World's Fairs. Likewise spheres have also played large roles in their landscapes (New York, Chicago, and Knoxville for example).

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by KNWVIKING
I don't know if I see that much similarity,other then a big ball & water. WDW version is much more detailed,includes a monorail, just one main body of water,shows the FW pavilions. Let's face it,there are only so many ways of drawing something like this, how many unique renditions of the same idea can there be. At some point does somebody show up with a drawing of a castle and say Walt stole it for DL ?

My thoughts exactly.

 

[normr]

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The estate of an artist who painted a never-built theme park featuring the world's nations sued Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday, claiming his vision was stolen and turned into Epcot Center.



Mark Waters' 1961 painting for Miniature World, based on a U.S. Air Force officer's concept, bears striking similarities to Disney's Epcot, which opened in 1982. Both parks have hourglass shapes, large spheres at their entrances and a lake surrounded by pavilions evoking different countries.

According to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Lt. Col. Robert M. Jaffay had met Waters while stationed in Hawaii. Jaffay took the painting to Disney officials in 1963, only to have the company turn down his pitch.

But in 1979, Disney unveiled its plans for Epcot -- and they looked much like Waters' painting.

"We believe that Disney will now have to deal with this case straight up,'' said John Stemberger, the attorney representing the estate of Waters, who died in 1997. "They'll have to face the music and not hide behind any legal technicalities and legal procedures."

Stemberger said a settlement or verdict against Disney could cost the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

A Disney spokeswoman said the suit has no merit.

"It has nothing to do with the pursuit of the truth, but it has everything to do with the pursuit of financial gain,'' said Marilyn Waters, who is not related to the artist.

She also noted that the artist's wife and daughter filed a similar suit against Disney last year, but a federal court in Rhode Island threw it out because the statute of limitations had long expired. An appeals court upheld that decision.

"Clearly, they're trying to manipulate the court system to find a better venue,'' she said.

Stemberger, who also represents the Jaffay family, said they also may file a lawsuit, but gave no further details.

Jaffay, who died in Wooster, Ohio, in 2000, went to his grave claiming credit for Epcot. The company responded by taking the unusual step of releasing volumes of sketches, photos and memos as evidence that there was no theft.

Disney has always claimed that the World Showcase section of Epcot, which features pavilions displaying cultural exhibits from 11 countries, was inspired by World's Fairs. Also, Epcot has a section devoted to futuristic technology that wasn't part of Miniature World's plans.

There is a precedent for Disney stealing ideas and multimillion-dollar penalties against the company after lawsuits.

In 2000, two businessmen were awarded $240 million by a jury that decided Walt Disney stole their idea for its Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World. The company settled with the men for a far lower figure in September.

Stemberger of Orlando, a member of the plaintiff's legal team, predicts that "This lawsuit will establish the true history and origin behind another major Disney enterprise -- and even under the kindest of royalty models, the potential damages in a case of this nature are simply staggering."

But what year did Walt Disney show us his plans for Epcot? I remember seeing it as a liitle boy on Wondeful World of Color

 

[sgtdisney]

What I think is amusing is that in 1963 when these 'plans' were submitted to Disney, Walt was still alive and Walt's vision of EPCOT was nothing like what ended up becoming EPCOT Center. Epcot was Ron Miller's interpretation of the Experimental Prototype community wasn't it? Was Ron Miller, and the other Disney staff which ended up designing what is now known as Epcot in on those meetings in 1963?

Frankly I think this is a pretty frivolous lawsuit.. The plans were presented in 1963, EPCOT Center opens 20 years later and then another 20 years later a lawsuit is filed. Sounds like this poor old man's kids want to cash in on the Disney Gravy train to me.

 

[Tinkerbel129]

Not to sound stupid, but a thought. Isn't Busch Gardens The Olde Country in Williamsburg, Va kind of follow the same. That park is built around different countries, some of the culture and the food. It has been years since I was there so I can't remember if there is a body of water or not.


ps.. and when I was about 12 some odd amount of years ago, I used to like to draw shoes, wouldn't you know I would see some of those concepts show up years later and not by me. I guess I missed my calling. Oh well life goes on.