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Post subject: London Childrens Hospital sueing Disney
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The cartoon characters of Disney have kept children amused for generations. Less funny, they may find, is a dispute between the film empire and London's Great Ormond Street Hospital over money which might otherwise be used to treat sick children.
Peter and the Starcatchers
The hospital is to consult lawyers next week to investigate whether a children's adventure book published by Disney in America infringes the hospital's long-held ownership of the copyright of J M Barrie's Peter Pan.
Millions of pounds earned from royalty fees have been spent on helping sick children as a result of Barrie's decision to give his copyright to the hospital before his death in 1937.
Great Ormond Street, increasingly concerned at the cost and difficulties of policing the copyright, has written to Hyperion Books, a New York-based division of the film company, to protest that Peter and The Starcatchers, which is billed as a prequel to Peter Pan, has been published without its permission.
It has complained that Hyperion is denying the hospital money that it could spend on research and medical equipment. The hospital said Barrie's original fairy story remains in copyright in America until 2023, even though it runs out in Europe in 2007.
Disney was equally emphatic yesterday that Peter Pan was already out of copyright in America.
In a statement last night Disney said: "The copyright to the J M Barrie stories expired in the US prior to 1998, the effective date of the US Copyright Extension Act, and thus were ineligible for any extension of their term. With another American test case - over a Peter Pan sequel published three years ago - pending before the courts, Great Ormond Street is now fearful that Barrie's book has become a free-for-all in America and that it stands to lose millions of pounds before 2023.
But the hospital says privately that it is a hard-pressed charity and it may not be able to afford a long court case in America.
Hyperion admitted yesterday that Peter and the Starcatchers is based on Peter Pan and that permission had not been sought. A spokesman said: "We are very certain that in the US Peter Pan is in the public domain."
Peter and the Starcatchers was written by two Americans, Dave Barry, a Pulitzer prize-winning humour columnist, and Ridley Pearson, a crime writer, and was published with much fanfare and a long authors' tour last month.
The book tells the story of Peter, an orphan and "the leader of the Lost Boys", and his adventures with pirates and thieves on the High Seas. Peter's ship is called Never Land.
The other case hanging over the hospital is a book called After the Rain - A New Adventure for Peter Pan by a little-known Canadian author, Emily Somma. First published in Canada, where Peter Pan is out of copyright, it then went on sale in California.
A spokesman insisted that copyright in America had been extended to 2023 from 2007 because of a law, the Copyright Extension Act, passed in 1998.
He said: "We are very disappointed at the publication of this new book and we will be discussing it with our lawyers next week." |
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 Tue Oct 12, 2004 4:23 pm |
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That's very sad that Disney would be that cold hearted as to screw a charity out of money like that. 
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-Ixidor |
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| Thu Oct 14, 2004 6:50 pm |
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| I agree, it's another showing just how far Disney's managment has fallen. |
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| Thu Oct 14, 2004 7:46 pm |
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| Ixidor wrote: |
| That's very sad that Disney would be that cold hearted as to screw a charity out of money like that. |
Wow, four frowny emoticons worth of sad. That must be really saddening.
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| Fri Oct 15, 2004 1:43 am |
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As much as I hate to side with Disney, the devil devil devil, against a frickin' children's hospital, I would think Peter Pan would be public domain by now.
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I am Jack's Fight Club reference. |
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| Sun Oct 17, 2004 10:33 pm |
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| The problem is that copyright lengths are different in different countries, all I know is that it they last for 90 years now. |
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| Mon Oct 18, 2004 3:15 am |
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But the hospital! At least a percentage of the profit should go to the charity out of the tradition and good-will of the story...
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rednekbob9: 1: You're Female
rednekbob9: 2: You're Internet-able
rednekbob9: 3: You like anime
rednekbob9: you're automatically a perfect match
rednekbob9: run like hell |
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| Mon Oct 18, 2004 4:09 am |
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but no, Eisner isn't like that.
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The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself? |
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| Mon Oct 18, 2004 9:50 am |
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| dillpops wrote: |
| But the hospital! At least a percentage of the profit should go to the charity out of the tradition and good-will of the story... |
right, in a situation like this I would have probably written in something like 3-5 percent of total sales would go to the hospital. That might be under what they would normally recieve (I'm not sure) but it keeps good faith and makes you look all super to the public. |
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| Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:40 pm |
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The thing that gets me is that Disney fought to have the length of ownership lengthened in America so that it could keep hold of Mickey Mouse. So this makes them hipocrits in my eyes.
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anime is teh s uck
Play City of Heroes/Villians? Look me up, Pinnacle server, @C Paradox |
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| Mon Oct 18, 2004 1:48 pm |
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| but you see, the copyrights of donald/goofy/ect. have most likely expired (or are real close to it) over in that thar european stage, people could then right stories with them up the ass and there's nothing Disney could do about it. Mickey is a whole other ballgame. See, he's trademarked. That doesn't expire. Disney fought for the copyright extension for their other characters. |
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| Mon Oct 18, 2004 3:56 pm |
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| Andromaton wrote: |
| but you see, the copyrights of donald/goofy/ect. have most likely expired (or are real close to it) over in that thar european stage, people could then right stories with them up the ass and there's nothing Disney could do about it. Mickey is a whole other ballgame. See, he's trademarked. That doesn't expire. Disney fought for the copyright extension for their other characters. |
"Fought?" Disney "fought" for their copyrights like the US "fought" Hiroshima. Disney hasn't been in a fight in decades. They don't fight, they pummel into submission, even if their target IS the US Congress. Granted, my anarchist stance on copyright law should logically disqualify me from the conversation, but still...nobody can "fight" Disney.
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I am Jack's Fight Club reference. |
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| Wed Oct 20, 2004 7:33 pm |
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goofy is teh bomb
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The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself? |
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| Wed Oct 20, 2004 9:41 pm |
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And Doug has once again ruined a perfectly good petty debate.
Damn You
Anyway I think I'm gonna make site with a countdown clock that marks how long Eisner's got.
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Bang. |
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| Wed Oct 20, 2004 10:20 pm |
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Got, or..."got?"
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I am Jack's Fight Club reference. |
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| Mon Oct 25, 2004 5:02 pm |
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