DUCK HUNTING SEASON: AUTHOR SUES DISNEY AND MIGHTY DUCKS

          "Mighty Ducks" author and creator Steven Brill filed
     suit Tuesday against Walt Disney Pictures and its NHL team,
     the Mighty Ducks, "claiming he is entitled" to 5% of all
     gross revenues of "Mighty Ducks" merchandise and 5% of gross
     revenues of the team, according to Janet Shprintz of DAILY
     VARIETY.  Brill's attorney Pierce O'Donnell: "A professional
     sports team was spawned from a motion picture.  In the
     Disney world, life imitates art.  And Steven Brill created
     the art."  The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in
     L.A., claims that Brill is entitled to 5% of the "absolute
     gross that the studio receives from exploiting unique
     objects and things."  Disney "is expected to argue" that the
     name "Mighty Ducks" isn't included under the Writers Guild
     of America definition of an object or thing.  The film was
     released in '92, and the team didn't begin play until '93
     (DAILY VARIETY, 12/16).  Brill, who seeks $25M in his suit,
     said hasn't received any payments from Disney for team
     merchandise sales (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/16).