An illustration by E.H. Shephard for A.A. Milne's children's classic The House at Pooh Corner, published in 1928.An illustration by E.H. Shephard for A.A. Milne's children's classic The House at Pooh Corner, published in 1928. (Bonhams/Associated Press)

The family of the man who turned Winnie the Pooh into a commercial hit is suing Disney Corp. for what they say are unpaid royalties.

In 1931, Stephen Slesinger purchased the Canadian and U.S. distribution rights for Pooh from British writer A.A. Milne. Slesinger gave the bear his red shirt and turned him into a worldwide marketing phenomenon.

Three decades later, in 1961, Stephen Slesinger Inc., the company formed by Slesinger's family, licensed the rights to Disney. Disney then proceeded to make a series of films, television shows, books and toys based on the Pooh character.

For the past two decades, Disney and Slesinger Inc. have disputed how much the Slesinger family should be getting in royalties. In September, U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper ruled that Disney had the licence to the Pooh character, and the family "may not now claim infringement of any retained rights."

But the Slesingers contend royalties are owed to it under the terms of the 1961 deal — hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid royalties. Eric George, lawyer for Slesinger Inc., said the family is owed between 1.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent on every sale of Pooh merchandise.

In its latest move, the family's lawyers filed papers in Los Angeles District Court last week calling for redress. The family claims Disney has combined profits from Pooh and Mickey Mouse merchandise, concealing the revenues earned by Pooh.

A previous appeal by the Slesingers was turned down in 2007 after it was discovered that a private detective hired by the family had illegally gathered evidence from Disney offices and dumpsters.

With files from The Associated Press