Paddington Bear at Buckingham Palace in a specially-made skit featuring the Queen, made for the Platinum Jubilee
(Picture: Handout)The son of the producer behind the Paddington Bear TV show is locked in a legal battle over his share of potentially millions of pounds in royalties.
The marmalade-loving bear became a children’s favourite when created by author Michael Bond, and his popularity soared with the launch of an animated 1970s TV series on the BBC.
According to a “gentleman’s agreement”, Mr Bond said TV producer Graham Clutterbuck would be entitled to ten per cent of all future worldwide Paddington merchandise royalties.
With both men now dead, the deal has now passed to Michael Clutterbuck, the producer’s son, and Paddington and Company Ltd, Mr Bond’s former business which holds the rights to the fictional bear.
But the High Court heard relations have soured and Mr Clutterbuck does not believe he is receiving enough royalties – especially since the runaway success of two Paddington films starring Ben Whishaw, Sally Hawkins and Hugh Bonneville and a beloved sketch with The Queen put the character’s popularity on a different plane.
A judge granted Mr Clutterbuck’s company, Pixdene Ltd, permission to send independent auditors into Paddington and Company to check that royalties, averaging £30,000-a-year, are correct.
The court revisited the original deal between Mr Bond, whose Paddington character comes to London from “darkest Peru”, and Graham Clutterbuck, a producer who made a series of hit children’s TV shows including The Wombles and Jimbo and the Jet-Set.
Philip Roberts KC, a barrister for Michael Clutterbuck, said his father’s company, Pixdene, faced a battle over the royalties payments when rights to the Paddington films were sold, but that was settled with an agreement that the original deal was binding.
“In the meantime, Pixdene became increasingly concerned that the amounts it receives from Paddington do not reflect the enormous commercial success of Paddington Bear, particularly following the release of Paddington 2, one of the highest-grossing films of 2017,” said Mr Roberts.
The court was pointed to a report in 2017 that the global market of Paddington merchandise could be worth up to £5 million.
A 2019 audit of the Paddington and Company accounts had been planned, but stalled in a row over who should carry it out.
In her ruling, Judge Melissa Clarke said: “Paddington Bear surely needs no introduction, being such a well-loved character that Her late Majesty the Queen was filmed taking tea with him during her recent Platinum Jubilee celebrations.”
She said it was clear the two sides in the dispute “do not trust each other”, commenting: “The milk of human kindness has long since evaporated between them.”
She set down rules for future audits, including that inspections “must take place at a venue to be reasonably determined by Paddington, within Paddington’s control and within normal working hours”.
The judge’s ruling also imposed confidentiality restrictions about the information which the independent auditor can pass on to Pixdene.
