Hauling Mickey Mouse And Donald Duck Into Court?

Would I make this stuff up? (It would save a lot of time.) But no, it’s true. A summons was issued by an Italian court for Signor Topolino (Mickey Mouse) and Signor Paperino (Donald Duck), who “are kindly instructed to appear before the Naples Tribunal on December 7.” How could this happen?

In what the newspaper [Corriere della Sera] describes as a “bizarre” bureaucratic blunder, the Disney cartoon characters have been named as witnesses in the trial of a Chinese man accused of peddling counterfeit toys and decals bearing the images of the pair.

Corriere dell Sera, Italy’s most respected newspaper, denounced the error as emblematic of Italy’s justice system where delays – which it says are caused by lack of proper staffing and other resources – often result in cases being dismissed on technicalities.

Viva Italia! Here’s the Earthtimes story that brought this to my attention.