Tagrel
07-02-2004, 09:55 AM
Original Article: SA lawyers sue Disney for lion song rights (http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/crime1justice/0,2172,82912,00.html)
SA lawyers sue Disney for lion song rights
July 02, 2004, 14:27
South African lawyers are suing US entertainment giant Walt Disney Co for infringement of copyright on The Lion Sleeps Tonight, the most popular song to emerge from Africa, the lawyers said today. If Disney loses, South African proceeds from its trademarks - including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck - could be seized by the courts, lawyers representing relatives of the song's composer said.
The lilting song, initially called Mbube, earned an estimated $15 million in royalties since it was written by Solomon Linda, a Zulu migrant worker, in 1939, and featured in Walt Disney's Lion King movies. However, Linda's impoverished family have only received about $15 000, the lawyers said. Disney executives in South Africa were not immediately available for comment. Linda sold the worldwide copyright for Mbube to a local firm, but under British laws in effect at the time, those rights should have reverted to his heirs 25 years after his death in 1962, Owen Dean, the copyright lawyer, said.
This means Linda's surviving three daughters and 10 grandchildren were entitled to a share of royalties from the song, which has since been recorded by at least 150 musicians. "We are claiming R10 million ($1.6 million) in damages from Disney at the moment," Dean told reporters. "The court attached use of Disney trademarks in South Africa to the case last week. We believe our legal position is very sound."
Court to issue summons next week
The court will issue a summons to Walt Disney in Los Angeles early next week. If the case is successful, legal action may also be launched against Disney and other companies in the United Kingdom or Australia, where British copyright laws would have applied, Dean added. It would also have widespread implications for other South African musicians, authors and artists who may have sold their rights without being aware of their entitlements.
"The family are entitled to royalties. There has also been a misappropriation of South African culture - the song is thought to be American," Dean said. Zathele Madonsela (16), Linda's grandson, told reporters the case was very important for his family, who live in poverty in the Johannesburg township of Soweto. "Life is difficult, we are really struggling," he said.
Executors of the family's estate are also seeking a further R6 million damages from three local companies who have benefited from income either from the Lion King films or the song. The Mbube song was adapted by Pete Seeger, a US folk singer, who called it Wimoweh as he misheard its Zulu lyrics. George David Weiss, a US songwriter, rewrote the song as The Lion Sleeps Tonight. - Reuters
SA lawyers sue Disney for lion song rights
July 02, 2004, 14:27
South African lawyers are suing US entertainment giant Walt Disney Co for infringement of copyright on The Lion Sleeps Tonight, the most popular song to emerge from Africa, the lawyers said today. If Disney loses, South African proceeds from its trademarks - including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck - could be seized by the courts, lawyers representing relatives of the song's composer said.
The lilting song, initially called Mbube, earned an estimated $15 million in royalties since it was written by Solomon Linda, a Zulu migrant worker, in 1939, and featured in Walt Disney's Lion King movies. However, Linda's impoverished family have only received about $15 000, the lawyers said. Disney executives in South Africa were not immediately available for comment. Linda sold the worldwide copyright for Mbube to a local firm, but under British laws in effect at the time, those rights should have reverted to his heirs 25 years after his death in 1962, Owen Dean, the copyright lawyer, said.
This means Linda's surviving three daughters and 10 grandchildren were entitled to a share of royalties from the song, which has since been recorded by at least 150 musicians. "We are claiming R10 million ($1.6 million) in damages from Disney at the moment," Dean told reporters. "The court attached use of Disney trademarks in South Africa to the case last week. We believe our legal position is very sound."
Court to issue summons next week
The court will issue a summons to Walt Disney in Los Angeles early next week. If the case is successful, legal action may also be launched against Disney and other companies in the United Kingdom or Australia, where British copyright laws would have applied, Dean added. It would also have widespread implications for other South African musicians, authors and artists who may have sold their rights without being aware of their entitlements.
"The family are entitled to royalties. There has also been a misappropriation of South African culture - the song is thought to be American," Dean said. Zathele Madonsela (16), Linda's grandson, told reporters the case was very important for his family, who live in poverty in the Johannesburg township of Soweto. "Life is difficult, we are really struggling," he said.
Executors of the family's estate are also seeking a further R6 million damages from three local companies who have benefited from income either from the Lion King films or the song. The Mbube song was adapted by Pete Seeger, a US folk singer, who called it Wimoweh as he misheard its Zulu lyrics. George David Weiss, a US songwriter, rewrote the song as The Lion Sleeps Tonight. - Reuters