Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey Is Building to an Anti-Disney Horror Universe; CBR, February 9, 2023

ANDREAS NEUENKIRCHEN, CBR ; Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey Is Building to an Anti-Disney Horror Universe

Disney characters beware -- Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey intends to kick off a shared universe of public domain properties in a horror setting.

"Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey portrays the title character and his companion Piglet as bloodthirsty, feral slashers after having been abandoned by their friend Christopher Robin. This new interpretation became a possibility when the first Winnie-the-Pooh book by A. A. Milne went into the public domain in January 2022 (Disney still holds the rights to its specific depictions of the characters)."

‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ Suit Is Dismissed; New York Times, 9/30/09

Dave Itzkoff, New York Times; ‘Winnie-The-Pooh’ Suit Is Dismissed:

"A longstanding lawsuit involving royalties for the characters of Winnie-the-Pooh and his lovable, lucrative friends from the Hundred Acre Wood was dismissed in federal district court in Los Angeles, Reuters reported. In a legal dispute that dates to 1991, the estate of Stephen Slesinger, the producer who first acquired licensing rights to the Pooh works and characters from A. A. Milne in 1930, was suing for more than $700 million in royalties it says it was owed by the Walt Disney Company, which acquired the rights from Stephen Slesinger Inc. in 1961. When lower courts threw out that case after the misconduct of a private investigator, Mr. Slesinger’s heirs filed a copyright-infringement suit against Disney. On Friday Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled that Stephen Slesinger Inc. “transferred all of its rights in the Pooh works to Disney, and may not now claim infringement of any retained rights.”"

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/arts/30arts-WINNIETHEPOO_BRF.html?scp=2&sq=winnie&st=cse