Of Pigs and Tarzan

[Dan Shane]

MATT WRITES:

> I think Tarzan may be in a different situation becuase he was the creation
> of
> one writer in the early twentieth century (Edgar Rice Burroughs).  I've
> noticed
> that "Disney/Burroughs" is written beside of pictures from the Disney film
> on
> my Disney day by day clander, so I don't think Disney has complete
> ownership of
> the character.  Plus there is a non-Disney Tarzan tv series currently
> airing
> the USA.
> 
> Do any of you know anything about the origins of the Three little pigs?
> My
> guess is that the pigs are a practically ancient and uncopyrightable
> folktale.

AND I REPLY:

Indeed the Burroughs estate still retains ownership of Tarzan, and they have
simply licensed the use of the character to Disney and other studios for
representation on film and TV.  Anyone who would try to use Tarzan, Korak,
or Jane without permission from the ERB estate would be infringing on their
copyright.  Disney only "owns" Tarzan as he appears in the cartoons.

The Three Little Pigs is an old fairy tale found in the collection of the
Brothers Grimm, which means the story itself is even older than that.  The
Grimms wrote few, if any of their stories, but drew them together in printed
form from oral tradition.

Dan