#ooc

*Chuckle*

Oh, I think it's a gift that it takes a century! Otherwise, EVERYTHING we got would be derivative.

I have to say, I can kind of understand the WDW thing with copyright, only because of Oswald.

Oswald?

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was Walt's FIRST big hit; the whole studio was based on him. He was HUGE for them.

Instead, Disney buys it up, then makes derivative regurgitations of their own properties, devoid of artistic merit?

However, a shady distributor had made a contract with Walt, who believe the guy's hale-fellow act. Walt didn't really read the contract, took it on handshake. Charles Mintz.

Well, I'm not a huge fan of Disney, Cat, but at least not EVERYBODY is doing that.

Oof. Major lesson for Walt?

I love Disney, and hate that crap in the way that only someone who loves it can.

Mintz met with Walt to renegotiate the contract and when he offered Walt less money and less creative license and Walt said no, Mintz dropped the bomb; the contract they had said he OWNED Oswald. And he'd take the famous character elsewhere if Walt didn't sign. AND Mintz had lured all his animators away at the same time. No product, and no one to produce it.

Yikes.

Walt called Roy from NY to Ca. and asked what the animators were doing right then. "Weird, Walt... they're all packing their desks....."

Yeah, Walt's contract bungling is a bit different than ruining public domain for EVERYONE.

Walt refused to sign the contract, walked away from Oswald and Mintz, and told Roy and Lillian not to worry, they'd think of something.

On the way back, he doodled as they rode the train. He showed it to Lillian who said it was cute, but she didn't like the name Mortimer. It needed to be something more friendly. Like.... Mickey.

A "famous character" that now nobody has heard of.

Yup.

In 2006, TWDC purchased the rights and all the filmography of Oswald back. *G*

Ha! Karma.

5 years until Mickey is public domain. Dollars to donuts TWDC tries to muck with it AGAIN.

They got him for the services of Al Michaels as play-by-play announcer on NBC Sunday Night Football.

*nod* Sure they will.

Well...why do we need Mickey to be public domain?

I'm perfectly fine with leaving that particular genie IN the bottle.

Well, you'll never convince me that stealing from the public trust intellectually is a good thing. Theft goes both ways imo

But...public domain means the creator doesn't get residuals, right?

Mickey doesn't need to be - and he also has trademark protection,

So if I wrote a novel, and somebody wanted to make a movie of it, I'd get nothing.

This issue is keeping Mickey out and blocking EVERYTHING ELSE too

That's why a reasonable limit of time

75+ years after the Author's death isn't reasonable

But the Disney stuff is mostly old fairy tales, so what's the problem? Make new stuff.

Death keeps the artist from collecting either

Because it isn't about Disney

It is about Disney blocking public domain from ALL works to keep ther little fiefdom

Because in their effort to shield their mouse, Disney has prevented Superman, Pulp fiction (not the movie), Poetry etc

Not just fairy tales

But...I guess I just don't get it. Who would WANT to redo Disney things?

It's not just Disney

I mean, who needs to do a new version of Pulp Fiction?

Why just keep redoing stuff that's been done?

............

I'm willing to be convinced, but I just don't see it yet.

Okay. If we had onerous IP in the past, we wouldn't have had Lancelot. Because Lancelot is fan fiction.

I think copyright is an enormous protection for the artist. I think an artist should be compensated for use of intellectual property.

The great-grandchildren of the Happy Birthday guy, who had nothing to do with the song, are sue-happy greedy gusses that get fat on residuals.

Yes, but they don't need to be compensated 75 years after they die.

Lancelot from King Arthur? Mallory used old legends for that, didn't he?