CURIOUS GEORGE and the judge

Lawsuit filed over yellow monkey

By Mike Whybark     January 21, 2003
Source: Jam! Showbiz

JAM! SHOWBIZ runs an AP story covering the Los Angeles Curious George lawsuit between Hanna-Barbera and Jon Shapiro on the one hand, and Universal Studios on the other. In the lawsuit, filed Thursday, Shapiro and the animation studio contend that Universal has failed to pay proper compensation of 10 percent of worldwide merchandising revenue.

Shapiro obtained the rights from creator H.A. Rey in 1989 wth the exception of book rights, which remained with Houghton Mifflin Co. He then entered into an agreement with Hanna-Barbera in 1990, and that patnership structured a deal with Imagine Entertainment, Universal's predecessor.

A Universal spokesperson said that the lawsuit was "without merit."

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