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Disney copyright

• Message 1. 

  Posted by poppy (U2220656) on Tuesday, 24th October 2006

  Someone pointed out a while ago that Disney owns the copyright on the names of the 7 Dwarfs - is this so, and does the Beeb realise it?

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by mike (U2254029) on Tuesday, 24th October 2006

  I'm sure they do, they're not dopey ...

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by Vicarshusband (U6051871) on Friday, 27th October 2006

  Wouldn't it be trademark and not copyright? Disney will own the copyright in the original film - so if Lynda (or the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú) try to put that on they'll be for it - but unless they trademarked the character names (and I imagine they were not so hot on this in the 1930s as they are now) there's nothing to stop anyone else using them? Witness the number of RL SW&the7Ds performances that take place.
  
  (Just speculating - not my field).
  
  On the other hand, these may all pay Disney a fee and/or submit their scripts for approval - and the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú may have done the same. Perhaps Lynda hasn't and the performance will be interrupted by the arrival on an injunction.
  
  VH

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by RosieT (U2224719) on Friday, 27th October 2006

  I'd have thought the original story of Snow White and the seven dwarfs is a folk tale, collected by the brothers Grimm, probably, so not copyright.
  
  The names of characters being copyright is maybe a bit dodgy - there's a lovely letter from Groucho Marx to Warner Brothers about the use of the name "Casablanca," and whether The Marx Brothers could claim royalties from Warner Brothers .... So maybe you can call characters wht you like, unless you wnt to be sued by Madonna, Prince John Smith etc......

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• Message 5

  , in reply to message 4.

  Posted by Vicarshusband (U6051871) on Friday, 27th October 2006

  The original story can't be copyright, no - but the Disney film clearly is, so if you tried to copy that (using the same dialogue etc) you could get clonked.
  
  There seems though to be a recent trend to trademark everything in sight (hence you get Harry Potter (tm) etc) and I assume that if Disney made the film now they would of course do this - so if you did a panto with a dwarf named Dopey you would, again, get clonked. But I suspect they didn't do this 70 years ago, so it may be safe.
  
  VH

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 5.

  Posted by RosieT (U2224719) on Friday, 27th October 2006

  But Lynda is doing a *panto* of Snow White, and cannot call the main character RoseRed, just because Disney called a character in his film "Snow White", can she? She's not doing a film, and she can surely call the characters anything she likes? (as long as it's not for a rehearsal of the people who are involved in the Home Farm Boxing Day Shoot, of course!)

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 6.

  Posted by Vicarshusband (U6051871) on Friday, 27th October 2006

  I don't think that it matters that it's a panto, not a film. You can't (I think) copyright an idea - ie the basic plot, so she can do "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" as a film, a panto, a book or whatever she likes. But if she is obviously copying the Disney film (say by including chunks of its dialogue) then she may be infringing copyright and might get into trouble.
  
  I think that the names area slightly different matter - as I said, I think the issue is did Disney trademark them? I would guess they didn't do this as it wasn't the fashion back then. If they had then again, L might be in trouble
  
  Of course had they tried, they might have been told anyway that they couldn't trademark Snow White as it was already in common use in the story - but they might have succeeeded with the dwarves as (agin, I think) they were invented for the film.
  
  As I said, I'm not an expert. But I think Linda is probably OK - although she should check. The Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú are probably OK - I'm sure they will have checked. (Actually I suspect the Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú are fine anyway because they're not actually going to produce a panto are they? they're just referring to somof the characters and maybe broadcasting snippets - which I think is probably allowable anyway. I think.)
  
  VH

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 7.

  Posted by RosieT (U2224719) on Friday, 27th October 2006

  Have just found this:
  
  "(The dwarf names in this playscript are original with ON STAGE! The dwarf names associated with the Walt Disney Company film, i.e., "Doc, Sleepy, Grumpy, etc.," are the property of the Walt Disney Company and may not be used without permission of the Disney Company. Anyone using the "Disney" names (actors, directors, producers, organizations, etc.,) without permission from the Disney Company would be in violation of international copyright law.)"
  
  on this page:
  
  
  so I apologise for the scepticism that crept in - I obviously prefer to believe Groucho Marx, than a religiously-affiliated person! @:+} @:+} @:+} @:+} @:+} @:+} @:+}

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• Message 9

  , in reply to message 8.

  Posted by Vicarshusband (U6051871) on Friday, 27th October 2006

  Fri, 27 Oct 2006 19:58 GMT, in reply to RosieT in message 8
  
  RosieT
  
  You're quite right to be sceptical. I'm quite surprised - as I said I hadn't expected that they'd have managed to protect the names.
  
  So Linda needs to call her dwarfs Doctor, Dozy, Shy, etc...
  
  VH
  
  

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• Message 10

  , in reply to message 9.

  Posted by DeeKay Bee - Disenfranchised (U236881) on Friday, 27th October 2006

  
  
  IIRC they're Mustardlanders, not dwarfs (sp?)

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