Lion King Lawsuit update

[Sarangel]

JOHANNESBURG : US entertainment giant Walt Disney Corp. went before a South African court to challenge a lawsuit filed by a local Zulu family for royalties from the hit song "The Lion Sleeps Tonight".

The family of the late Solomon Linda, who composed the original Zulu tune for the song, is claiming 10 million rand (about 1.5 million dollars / 1.2 million euros) in damages from Disney.

Although many productions have used the hit song, Disney has been identified as the "most active user" of the song including in the 1994 blockbuster film "The Lion King" and spinoff musicals.

Disney brought an urgent application to the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday requesting the cancellation of a court order stating that Disney trademarks in South Africa can be sold to collect damage money.

A total of 240 trademarks, including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, were cited in the order by a South African court handed down on June 29.

For the time being, the order does not have any effect on Disney trading in South Africa, but it does give South African courts jurisdiction over the case.

Disney lawyer Danie Price argued in court on Tuesday that the executor of Linda's estate -- who is suing on behalf of the family -- was targeting the wrong company and should have sued a Disney subsidiary, Walt Disney Pictures and Television, which produced the film "The Lion King".

Price also claimed that Linda's late wife Regina and his daughters had assigned their rights to the song and had received royalties in 1983 and 1992, the SAPA news agency reported.

But Cedric Puckrin, counsel for the executor of Linda's estate, maintained that it was correct to sue Walt Disney Corp. "as the mother company which controls everything and pulls all of the strings".

Puckrin appealed to the judge to maintain the order, saying that in "a court of law and not Disney World", the case would be over because then a South African court would no longer have jurisdiction over the case.

Judge Hekkie Daniels reserved judgement