A report by the Hollywood Reporter said Disney Enterprises has been sued by the trademark owner of the stuff bear character in the hit animation film "Toy Story 3."
"Lotso" is the purple, strawberry-scented bear and the main antagonist to the popular Disney characters Woody and Buzz Lightyear, the report said. The character of "Lotso" in the film show him harboring a hatred over its previous owner and plotting the suffering and the demise of the protagonists in the film. New Jersey company Diece-Lisa Industries, the firm that created the "Lots of Hugs" stuffed toy bears which looks like the Disney film antagonist, said it has experienced harm as a result of the success of the animation firm.
DLI is reportedly suing Disney for trademark infringement and unfair competition, and is seeking profits that were attributed to the bad actions, damages of the depiction of the "Lotso" character in the Disney film. Moreover, the report said DLI is seeking an injunction on the use of the "Lotso" character in the future.
Referring to its licensing agreement for a bear product with Interactive Group, DLI wrote, "IG was fearful to use the 'Lots of Hugs' mark for the DLI licensed bear products in view of the worldwide success of the Toy Story 3 movie -- fearing Disney and consumer confusion with Defendant [Disney's] 'Lots-O'-Huggin'' bear a/k/a 'Lotso' bear character if IG should market and sell 'Lots of Hugs' bears. Subsequently, IG required that the licensed bear be marked 'hugalots' instead of 'Lots of Hugs.' "
DLI also cited a joint legal challenge Disney had made with DC Comics to protect the movie characters of the earlier "Toy Story" films, and said that Disney needed to accord the respect the latter awarded to the owner of the Batman character.
When the Hollywood Reporter contacted Disney for comment about the lawsuit, the company has yet to respond to the news site's request.
