Shopkeeper takes on Disney

The cartoon empire famous for films such as The Lion King and Jungle Book has ordered a shop owner from Motherwell to change the name of her clothes shop – or face legal action.

Irene Ryder, 50, was aghast when she received a letter telling her she could no longer use the name Tinkerbell, which was inspired by the character in the Scot JM Barrie’s book Peter Pan.

Despite trading for five years under the current name, Disney lawyers have warned the shopkeeper that she is infringing their copyright.

Anti-piracy personnel at the company demanded that Mrs Ryder immediately drop the name and accompanying pixie logo.

She has been told to send the corporation photographic evidence proving she has complied with the instructions.

Now Mrs Ryder, whose premises is adorned with pictures of Tinkerbell, says she faces a massive bill for rebranding her business. The trader has been a Disney fan since watching a film version of Peter Pan as a child. Her devotion is such that she owns a stake in a 40,000 timeshare apartment at the corporation’s Florida Fantasy Land, where she and her husband Charles, 52, have spent holidays for the past 15 years.

Yesterday, she said she feared she would be ruined after being threatened by the empire in a letter last week.

She said: “They said everything, including the name, logo and letter-heads had to go. It’s going to cost thousands of pounds to do this and put a big strain on my business. I cannot believe they’d go to all this trouble over a tiny wee shop in Motherwell, especially when you look at all the nurseries and doctor’s surgeries who have similar cartoons decorating their premises.”

She responded by offering to drop the paintings, but asked if she could carry on using the fairy’s name.

However, in its reply, the company insisted that she must remove both the “image and word” of Tinkerbell from her business.

Her lawyers are now examining the demands.

The Disney Corporation was unavailable for comment.