Frozen dispute between filmmaker and Disney thaws

Disney has settled a lawsuit in which it was accused by a US filmmaker of infringing her copyright in its teaser trailer for the hit film “Frozen”.

Kelly Wilson and Disney agreed to a settlement their dispute at the US District Court for the Northern District of California on Wednesday, June 24.

The case, according to entertainment website The Wrap, was dismissed without prejudice and all deadlines and hearings have been suspended.

Without prejudice means there is an option to re-file the case at a later date.

Before the settlement, Wilson had been seeking an unspecified amount in damages.

The dispute, which began in March 2014, centres on a claim by Wilson that Disney’s teaser trailer for “Frozen” was “substantially similar” to her short film “The Snowman”.

Released in November 2013, “Frozen” follows a princess, a reindeer and a snowman on their journey through the winter countryside. It earned an estimated $110 million worldwide on its opening weekend.

Wilson’s short film, made in 2010, is about a snowman who attempts to stop a group of hungry rabbits from eating his carrot nose. He later becomes friends with them.

Wilson claimed that the teaser trailer for the blockbuster hit was not related to the film’s subject.

She said that both her film and Disney’s trailer show a snowman battling to save his nose before finding friendship with former enemies.

Before the settlement, California district judge Vince Chhabria had already rejected a motion filed by Disney in August last year to dismiss the case.

In April this year, he then said that he thought a jury should rule on the issue.

Disney is no stranger to copyright disputes concerning the film. Earlier this year, WIPR reported that a Kuwaiti-based novelist claimed it infringes her work.

Disney did not respond immediately to a request for comment but WIPR will update the story should the company get in touch.