Scrat, the squirrel from the Ice Age movie saga no longer belongs to Disney.

After a 20-year legal battle between cartoonist Ivy Silberstein and Disney, the latter lost the rights to the character who chased an acorn without being able to catch it.
Ivy Supersonic, as she is better known, tried to sell the character to Fox in the late 1990s, after she saw an animal that looked like a combination of a rat and a squirrel in a New York park, FOX turned her down, but in 2002 Ivy saw her squirrel in the promos and in the first Ice Age movie, so she started the lawsuit.

The American cartoonist won the rights to the character she drew in 1999 for 20th Century Fox, now owned by Disney. “They thought they could steal it, because I had a problem with my trademark and a problem with my copyright, so I had two problems that legally they felt I couldn’t sue,” she told The Human Interest Story.
U.S. authorities in 2003 ruled that the character had shared rights between Ivy Silberrstein and Fox, but the designer went on to sue for full rights to the trademark.

The creator posted on Instagram:

“No #Scrat on #Disney #IceAge6 Thank you for respecting my trademarks and my #Sqrat character that I created on May 19, 1999. 20 years ago. On March 12, 2002 Ice Age was released, it’s been a 20 year fight, I won!”.

This is a clear example of the importance of carrying out all the steps to protect your intellectual property. Why enter into a conflict that can last so long if from the beginning you can own the rights to your creations.
Contact us for further advice.