Videos · October 7, 2026 · 39 seconds

Winnie-the-Pooh at 100: The Long Fight Over Who Owns a Bear

Name: Winnie-the-Pooh at 100: The Long Fight Over Who Owns a Bear
Uploaded: 2026-10-07T18:20:00.000Z
Duration: 39 s
Description: A.A. Milne sold the North American merchandising rights to his bear in 1930, and the century since has been spent in contracts, courtrooms, and, at one point, Disney's trash. As Winnie-the-Pooh turns 100, one bear has become three, belonging to Disney, to a New York library, and to everyone.

A.A. Milne sold the North American merchandising rights to his bear in 1930, and the century since has been spent in contracts, courtrooms, and, at one point, Disney's trash. As Winnie-the-Pooh turns 100, one bear has become three, belonging to Disney, to a New York library, and to everyone.

Read the full articleby Adam Canissario

Transcript

WINNIE-THE-POOH TURNS 100. WHO OWNS HIM?

[THE DEAL] Milne sold the bear in 1930.

A.A. Milne published Winnie-the-Pooh in 1926 and in 1930 sold the merchandise rights to agent Stephen Slesinger, who first drew the bear in a red shirt.
Slesinger's widow passed the rights to Disney in 1961 for a share of sales, and in 1991 the family sued, saying videos and software counted too. The fight ran 22 years.

[THE PUBLIC DOMAIN] Disney won, but not every Pooh.

The 1926 book and its illustrator E.H. Shepard's drawings entered the US public domain in 2022, so anyone can use that first bear.
Disney keeps its own red T-shirt version, which is why a 2023 horror film dressed its Pooh in a red flannel shirt instead.

Read the full article at noozify.com. Images: Images: the original toys at the New York Public Library, by Spictacular; Parker Brothers' 1933 Winnie-the-Pooh Game; E.H. Shepard (all public domain, via Wikimedia Commons). Music: an original score for Noozify.