Milan - Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck will finally get their day in court if summons served by judicial authorities in Italy are to be believed. Signor Topolino (Mickey Mouse) and Signor Paperino (Donald Duck) "are kindly instructed to appear before the Naples Tribunal on December 7," reads a copy of the summons, obtained by Milan-based daily Corriere della Sera and published Tuesday.
In what the newspaper 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.
The summons originally compiled by officials in Naples was later reproduced by a Milan judicial office and delivered to lawyers representing the US-based Walt Disney company, owner of the trademarks for the cartoon characters.
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.
Judicial authorities were not immediately available for comment but Corriere della Sera suggested ironically that it was "unlikely" that the star witnesses would show up in court.
