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Buck G. Woodall v. The Walt Disney Company

  1. April 23, 2025

    Disney Seeks $532K Atty Sanctions In Artist's 'Moana' Suit

    Disney asked a California federal judge to issue $532,815 in sanctions against attorneys for an animator who alleged "Moana" lifted his Polynesian adventure story, arguing Tuesday that the plaintiff's lawyers vexatiously prolonged litigation with "sanctionable misconduct" by pursuing "baseless" trade secret misappropriation claims that were untimely and premised on a forged document.

  2. April 09, 2025

    Disney Doesn't Deserve $5.7M Fee In 'Moana' Suit, Artist Says

    Disney doesn't deserve $5.7 million in fees for beating an animator's copyright suit accusing it of ripping off his Polynesian adventure story to create "Moana," the plaintiff said Tuesday, arguing his case wasn't frivolous, considering the California federal judge found multiple times that sufficient similarity existed between the works. 

  3. March 27, 2025

    Disney Seeks $5.7M Atty Fee Award After 'Moana' IP Trial Win

    The Walt Disney Co. sought $5.7 million in attorney fees Tuesday after beating an animator's trade secret and copyright suit claiming it ripped off his Polynesian adventure story to create "Moana," arguing he engaged in bad-faith tactics like forging evidence, perjuring himself and improperly inflating purported damages.

  4. March 10, 2025

    Disney Unit Wins Copyright Trial Over 'Moana' Film

    A Los Angeles federal jury handed a win Monday to a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co. in a copyright infringement trial over the 2016 blockbuster "Moana," rejecting a claim that the movie ripped off another animation artist's Polynesian adventure epic.

  5. March 06, 2025

    Disney Slams Paltry Evidence As 'Moana' IP Trial Nears End

    Counsel for a unit of The Walt Disney Co. urged a California federal judge to enter judgment in their favor as a copyright trial wound to a close Thursday, saying an artist has theories but no actual evidence that his work was stolen for the blockbuster animated movie "Moana."

  6. March 05, 2025

    Disney Doesn't Allow IP Theft, 'Moana' Co-Creator Testifies

    One of the creators of "Moana" testified in a California federal copyright trial Wednesday that he "would never" use another writer's idea without permission, noting that one of his projects was killed after The Walt Disney Co. was unable to buy source material.

  7. March 04, 2025

    Disney Animator Tells Jury 'Moana' Was His Original Idea

    A longtime animation director for The Walt Disney Co. testified in California federal court Tuesday that his blockbuster movie "Moana" was inspired by Polynesian mythology and extensive research into the region and its culture, not the work of another artist now suing for copyright infringement.

  8. March 03, 2025

    Film Exec Testifies She Felt 'Set Up' By 'Moana' IP Claims

    A movie executive told a California federal jury on Monday that she never shared a distant family member's script with The Walt Disney Co., and that she later felt "set up" and pressured to lie for this relative's copyright suit over the blockbuster animated film "Moana."

  9. February 28, 2025

    'Moana' IP Theft Accuser Forged Evidence, Jury Hears

    Counsel for a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Co. sought during cross-examination Friday to undercut the credibility of an artist claiming "Moana" ripped off his work, pointing out that the plaintiff doctored a key document in the case and offered money to potential witnesses.

  10. February 27, 2025

    Artist Immediately Knew 'Moana' Was A Ripoff, Jury Hears

    An artist testified in California federal court Thursday that he was "shocked" upon taking his stepson to see "Moana" in a movie theater in 2016, saying he was certain the first time he saw the blockbuster film that The Walt Disney Co. had copied his own animated work.

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