Assuming there was no prior contract (I can’t believe Disney would make a mini Luxo without getting prior authorization from Luxo) Luxo is easily going to win this case. It’s blatant use of Luxo’s intellectual property for commercial purposes.
Really I think it will come down to the wording in the contract as well as the spirit of the contract due to the multi-national issue at hand.
Otherwise, it seems pretty cut and dried that Pixar would be making a profit on Luxo ASA’s intellectual property rights. I have always loved the Pixar lamp opening for their films. The fact they have identified it as modeled on the Luxo lamp makes it more stronger for Luxo ASA’s case. Disney could argue a generic lamp design for the intellectual use but given the past agreements, that argument would be weakened.
Luxo ASA would be smart to take advantage of the situation and use the public view to strengthen their marketing image. I would not fight Disney too much for the fiscal cost as well the public relation turn it could take against them. It is a great free marketing tool. Disney could always turn to the generic market design altering the lamp enough to make their own intellectual property. There is no such ownership of the basic lamp design.
So the strength of the past agreement may weigh the terms to Luxo, but the Disney public relations, legal cost and lost of image marketing support balances out stronger in balance for Disney. Luxo ASA would be smart to settle and be nice in my opinion.
I would love to see the legal decision tree charts each side has on this. It would be a great stats study guide to see how they really are weighing the cost of each decision based on the options and more mentioned above.
Interesting to see that currently the poll is tied…
Here’s my opinion:
Luxo belongs to Luxo ASA. Luxo ASA, if they had wanted, could probably have won a lawsuit against the short film, had they not decided to agree that it could be shown, (thus getting free advertising for themselves). Disney never bought rights to it, but an agreement was reached in the past allowing the usage of the animated lamp to be used. e.g., on posters, in the logo, and in the short film(s). I think the breach of agreement happened the moment they started to make physical Luxo lamps, whether animatronic, or (in a huge error) actual working lamps.
It is the design of Luxo that is copyrighted. Especially in a physical product. There is no real difference even if they are making lamps with ‘younger’ proportions. It is the way the shade is designed, the springs allow for easy mobility, the well balanced stand, etc… Luxo is right to want to protect their copyright, because if they don’t and Disney is allowed to go forward with their working Luxo lamps, it causes there to be less legal binding against other companies from doing the same, with only slight modifications.
If Disney wanted lamps, they should have gone to Luxo themselves. That would have been far cooler anyway. What, I think, would upset any company, is to see a cheap version of your product being made. And yes, plastic replicas of a real lamp is kind of a silly idea, no matter how much it would be cool to have one (if that even makes sense ).
Perhaps Disney could just ask Luxo if they can stock their lamps in Disney stores. We get an “authentic Luxo Jr. replica” and Luxo gets another outlet to sell their merchandise. It’s a win-win.
Although I’ve not heard much about what’s going on, I have to admit that from the sounds of things, Luxo ASA has a good case and I can understand why there’s this dispute. I agree with AJD08 in that letting Luxo stocking their lamps in Disney stores would probably be the best solution.
That is odd that Disney would do that without getting permission. Maybe they thought they could get away with it since they’re just plastic toys. At least I think they’re toys.
Luxo can’t make the lamp for Pixar because that cute little Up-bundle would cost way to much. Also, Luxo isn’t interested in selling their lamps in Disney-stores simply because they’re not big in the consumer market and have no intention to be either. Luxo lamps have always been designed and sold primarily for the professional workplace. They make lamps with an outstanding amount of work put into durability and functionality and has since 1937!
The biggest problem they had was that the lamp made by Disney was a cheap plastic copy, it’s against everything they stand for. The marketing value for Luxo is also quite limited. When a hospital selects which company should supply the lighting for their operating room they don’t care if one of the competing producers once inspired a cartoon…
Forgive my ignorance, but I’ll need to see more info before I can make an informed decision. 
).