Don't Mess With The Mouse--Kapeech?

A French children's book author who claimed Disney's Finding Nemo copied a fish of his creation has been convicted of fraud and ordered to pay damages.
He was ordered to pay 61,000 euros ($80,000, £42,000) damages and costs.
Franck Le Calvez claimed that the film's title character was based on his orange and white clown fish, Pierrot.

But a French court ruled on Wednesday that Nemo had existed before Pierrot and that Le Calvez even knew of the Disney character when he created his.

He was ordered to pay 61,000 euros ($80,000, £42,000) damages and costs.

Le Calvez had already lost one case last March. A court ruled then that the two fish were similar - both have big smiles and sport three stripes down the side - but found that their similarities were not enough to confuse people. [via]