Copyright infringement is a commonly used legal term in the entertainment industry. "Only the original, creative expressions of these ideas can be copyrighted" according to Baker v. Seldan, 101 U.S. 99, 25 L.Ed. 841 (1879) (Mickey Mouse -- A Truly Public Character, 1999). Only the expression of an idea is protected by copyright, not the idea itself. Many have done multiple films based on pirates; however, there is only one Jack Sparrow. Disney holds the rights to the expression of the Jack Sparrow character. This means that the idea behind the work or character is not protected, but how the idea is expressed is protected. Someone cannot use the Jack Sparrow character to sell rum unless specified by Disney. Another instance where this occurs is when an image is significantly similar to another image or a melody is similar to another. This commonly occurs more often in the music and art industry.
An owner of a copyright owns a “bundle” of rights that can be sold or distributed differently. The rights include: the right to reproduce the work, deviation of the work, distribution of the work, public display rights, and public performance rights (Click & Copyright, 2011). There are some exceptions like public domain to an idea. For example, the story of sleeping beauty or beauty and the beast is public domain.
There has been an ongoing legal battle between Walt Disney Co. and Stephen Slesinger, Inc. on the copyright rights to Winnie the Pooh. "Slesinger, a New York television and film producer, obtained the exclusive merchandising and other rights to the Pooh works from author A.A. Milne in 1930 and transferred them to Disney in 1961 in exchange for a regular royalty" (Thomason Reuters, 2009). Stephen Slesinger heirs claim royalty fees from Disney still thus beginning a lawsuit in 1991. A U.S. judge in Los Angeles dismissed remaining claims in 2009. This type of controversy occurs often especially with the copyright to characters like Winnie the Pooh. In this particular case, Disney stated that SSI did not verify the particular rights they owned when they transferred the rights to Walt Disney Co.
Disney is a very large franchise that deals with copyright infringement quite often. Other companies have to be careful not to come near what they own or to express an image or idea in an inappropriate way. For example, I wanted to use for my business plan “we scare to show we care” but it was too similar to the Monsters Inc. slogan “we scare because we care.” Though the phrase is different, it still has the same play on words and meaning. For those who do not know, my business plan focuses on the Halloween holiday. We specialize in haunted houses and spooky costume design.
Another case that has been in the news recently is the new idea for a themed park in China based on the game World of Witchcraft (WoW). However, the argument is that the similarities between the game and the theme park are not close enough to claim a lawsuit. Elliot Papageorgiou claims it as an inventive way to supply the demand of a park such as this one (The Finical Times Limited, 2012). The same issue occurred in China this past September with a theme park based on the mobile game Angry Birds. I think there is a fine line as to what is too closely related and what is not; however, it appears China has had reoccurring issues with copyright laws. “Western critics complain that the country makes, at best, a half-hearted effort because it conflicts with China's development strategy” (CBSNEWS, 2011). I agree. Chinese companies can not be excluded from copyright laws and have the ability to take western ideas and express them any way they see fit. It encourages other companies to outsource to China to make a profit and avoid western copyright laws. If I can not make a haunted house based on Tim Burton’s a Nightmare Before Christmas neither can some company in China. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/09/16/scitech/main20107294.shtml
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