Katten attorneys won a high-profile copyright case for their clients Seth MacFarlane, Media Rights Capital and Universal Studios. The plaintiff, Bengal Mangle Productions, had alleged in a suit filed in US District Court for the Central District of California last July that the anthropomorphic teddy bear from the movie Ted was "strikingly similar" to its character, Charlie, a teddy bear from the plaintiff's Web series. In the stipulation for dismissal of the suit (which cannot be refiled), Bengal Mangle is said to now be satisfied that "the character Ted was independently created by Seth MacFarlane using his own efforts and creativity and was not copied from [the] Charlie character." Katten's Litigation and Dispute Resolution team was led by partner Joel Weiner and included partners Gloria Franke Shaw, Becky Lindahl and Ryan Larsen, associate Joanna Hall, and paralegal Carol Winter. ("Seth MacFarlane Beats 'Ted' Lawsuit With 'Independently Created' Bear," March 23, 2015; "Seth MacFarlane, Universal Beat Suit Over 'Ted'," March 24, 2015; "Seth MacFarlane Wins in Lawsuit Claiming He Stole 'Ted' Idea," March 24, 2015; "Producers Drop Copyright Lawsuit Over Seth MacFarlane's 'Ted,'" March 23, 2015)