CNN is running an interesting article about how Disney is getting sued for
copyright violation. At stake is the royalties to the Peter Pan prequel
“Peter and the Starcatchers”. The basic premise of the lawsuit is this, Great
Ormond Street Hospital in England was given the copyright, and thus the
royalties, to Peter Pan in 1929 by the author J.M. Barrie. Barrie then died
in 1937, meaning that under US law his work is protected until 2023. At least
so the hospital claims. Disney meanwhile says that the copyright expried
prior to 1998, the last time they savaged the public domain.
The difference is this. 1929+75 years = 2004, which why Disney says that
Peter Pan is now public domain. However, with the Sonny Bono act, it’s now
lifetime of author + 75 years, which puts it significantly later. Did Disney
shoot themselves in the foot with this one?
The thing that makes Disney really suck is that once again they’re raping the
public domain and trying to force other works into the public domain, while
not allowing their work to ever enter. I have to wonder if the Disney lawyers
have done a benefit-cost analysis on this whole issue. The amount of money
they’re making from ancient Mickey Mouse stuff has got to be minimal. In any
case, at the rate that Disney bribes idiot lawmakers, there won’t be any
real public domain left in a few years and they’ll go bankrupt. I mean, it’s
not like many of their new ventures have exactly been successful.
