[robbyking]

I also think it's important for the artist to remember that Disney doesn't have a team of employees surfing the web looking for ideas to steal. The more likely scenario was a single designer was having trouble with a project and got desperate.

It's not excusable, but also isn't as conspiratorial.

[polymatter]

Spare me the violins. This is a billion dollar global enterprise not a Mom and Pop. Its Disney's responsibility to make sure they have the requisite licences and in this case they appeared to have failed in that duty.

[phreanix]

Disney works with 3rd party contractors and design agencies. If a design was claimed to be original artwork by one contractor, there's only so much that Disney can do. I'm not in any way defending them, but the possibility is there that this was either an honest mistake or a 3rd party that cut corners. I'm fairly certain there will be repercussions internally and externally due to this.

[jenskanis]

Disney has to take responsibility for the actions of their third parties and contractors.

[Millennium]

Why? So long as there are proper repercussions against the person who did the deed, if that person wasn't a part of Disney, what could Disney have reasonably done? If there turns out to be nothing it could reasonably have done, then whence comes responsibility?

[GoofballJones]

Which lends to the theory that it did indeed fall through the cracks. The bigger you are, the more you miss.

My theory is that it was from a 3rd party contractor and it just slipped through.