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French Judge Views Cartoon in 'Finding Nemo' Case
Monday February 23 12:30 PM ET
A French judge's chamber was turned into a screening room Monday as U.S. studio Disney defended itself against accusations by author Franck Le Calvez that they copied his ideas in its film "Finding Nemo."
Lawyers for his small publisher Flaven Scene have applied for an injunction to prevent Disney from distributing children's books and merchandise featuring the fish Nemo, saying it closely resembles Le Calvez's creation, Pierrot the Clown Fish.
"Finding Nemo," about a fish searching for his missing son, was the top U.S. film at the box office last year and has $850 million in total ticket sales to date.
Counsel for Disney said the charges of trademark infringement were unfounded because Nemo's likeness could not be considered a brand in its own right.
They showed Judge Louis-Marie Raingeard de la Bletiere extracts from the cartoon on a white screen in a cramped sideroom of the imposing Paris law courts.
The judge said he would rule on the injunction request on March 12 ahead of a full civil court trial on the merits of the case, scheduled for November.
Lawyers for Le Calvez, a marine life enthusiast, said he registered an outline of his Pierrot character with the French authors' copyright association in 1995 and logged an illustration of the clown fish as a trademark in February 2003.
His book, initially published in November 2002, sold its first print run of 3,000. But a second edition in October 2003 sold virtually no copies as many bookshops did not want to stock it alongside Disney's Nemo books.
"This is precisely the kind of case where our French legislation protects us against globalization," said Marie-Catherine Brocherieux, one of Le Calvez's lawyers.
Disney's lawyers said Walt Disney Productions and animation studio Pixar came up with the concept of Nemo independently and registered their copyright as early as 2000. They accused Flaven Scene of registering its trademark fraudulently.
Monday February 23 12:30 PM ET
A French judge's chamber was turned into a screening room Monday as U.S. studio Disney defended itself against accusations by author Franck Le Calvez that they copied his ideas in its film "Finding Nemo."
Lawyers for his small publisher Flaven Scene have applied for an injunction to prevent Disney from distributing children's books and merchandise featuring the fish Nemo, saying it closely resembles Le Calvez's creation, Pierrot the Clown Fish.
"Finding Nemo," about a fish searching for his missing son, was the top U.S. film at the box office last year and has $850 million in total ticket sales to date.
Counsel for Disney said the charges of trademark infringement were unfounded because Nemo's likeness could not be considered a brand in its own right.
They showed Judge Louis-Marie Raingeard de la Bletiere extracts from the cartoon on a white screen in a cramped sideroom of the imposing Paris law courts.
The judge said he would rule on the injunction request on March 12 ahead of a full civil court trial on the merits of the case, scheduled for November.
Lawyers for Le Calvez, a marine life enthusiast, said he registered an outline of his Pierrot character with the French authors' copyright association in 1995 and logged an illustration of the clown fish as a trademark in February 2003.
His book, initially published in November 2002, sold its first print run of 3,000. But a second edition in October 2003 sold virtually no copies as many bookshops did not want to stock it alongside Disney's Nemo books.
"This is precisely the kind of case where our French legislation protects us against globalization," said Marie-Catherine Brocherieux, one of Le Calvez's lawyers.
Disney's lawyers said Walt Disney Productions and animation studio Pixar came up with the concept of Nemo independently and registered their copyright as early as 2000. They accused Flaven Scene of registering its trademark fraudulently.
