Washington [US], March 11 (HBTV): After a five-year legal battle, Disney has emerged victorious in a copyright trial concerning the origins of its animated film Moana.

According to Deadline, a Los Angeles jury ruled in favour of Disney on Monday, concluding that the primary creators of Moana, John Musker and Ron Clements, had no knowledge of Buck Woodall's earlier work Bucky the Surfer Boy while developing the 2016 film.

However, the legal saga is not over, as Woodall is pursuing a separate lawsuit against Disney over alleged copyright infringement related to the sequel, Moana 2, which has grossed over USD 1 billion globally.

The case centered around allegations that Disney had lifted elements from Woodall's Bucky the Surfer Boy, including its Hawaii setting and Polynesian mythological themes.

According to Deadline, Woodall claimed that his distant relative, Jenny Marchick, a former director at Mandeville Films, had shared his copyrighted material with Disney, leading to the creation of Moana.

However, the jury found that Musker, Clements, and other key figures involved in Moana had never seen or heard of Woodall's work.

‘We are incredibly proud of the collective work that went into the making of Moana and are pleased that the jury found it had nothing to do with Plaintiff's works,’ Disney spokespersons said after the verdict.

‘This decision reinforces our position that Moana is an entirely original creation,’ the spokesperson added, as per Deadline.

Woodall's legal team expressed disappointment with the verdict. ‘We are obviously disappointed in the verdict,’ said attorney Gustavo D. Lage. ‘At the present time, we are weighing our options to determine the best path forward regarding the legal remedies available to our client,’ he added.

Despite the defeat in this trial, Woodall's legal team is moving forward with a separate lawsuit targeting Moana 2, seeking USD 10 billion in damages — about 2.5 per cent of the sequel's global earnings.

This new lawsuit claims a conspiracy involving Marchick and other Disney associates, alleging that Disney knowingly used elements of Bucky the Surfer Boy in Moana 2, which stars Auli'i Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson.

According to Deadline, Woodall's latest complaint accuses Marchick of scheming to steal his intellectual property for profit, citing her career ambitions and desire for success in Hollywood.

In response, Marchick, who now heads development at DreamWorks Animation, denied any involvement in the alleged theft of Woodall's material.

During her testimony, Marchick stated that she had no memory of ever showing Bucky materials to anyone at Disney, despite receiving updates and documents from Woodall over the years. She also mentioned arranging an interview for Woodall with a Disney Channel animator, but this did not result in any job offer.

While Disney's victory in the Moana copyright case may have settled the matter concerning the original film, the legal battle over Moana 2 continues.

No trial date has been set for the ongoing lawsuit, but as per Deadline, experts predict that Disney will soon seek to have the case dismissed, citing the favourable verdict in the initial trial. (ANI)