AW: Royalties

[Cord Wiljes]

Lars Olav Karlsen wrote: 

> So the artists are not working for Disney at all, they are 
> working for the publishers like Egmont and Gemstone.
(...)
> Disney is getting royalties for the right to use the
> characters and names, and the artists are getting paid for the work.

So what happens if Gemstone reprints a story which was produced by
Egmont? Does Egmont get any payment for this reprint? Are there cases in
which the creator does get an additional payment for a reprint? Can
Gemstone chose stories from any Disney publisher worldwide - and just
pay royalties to Disney?

Would Disney object any individual contract between a publisher and a
creator in which the publisher promises payments to the creator for
future reprints? 

And last but not least: May the publisher or Disney change anything
created by the creator? Can a creator demand _not_ to have his name on
his creation?

If we compare the role of Disney creators with an actor who is paid for
acting in a movie: The finished film is the sole property of the studio.
And the actor will get no additional payments for the DVD-Release, TV
airings etc. The difference seems to be that a studio filming a Tarzan
movie will pay royalties to the heirs of Edgar Rice Burroughs, but will
own the finished movie. Whereas Egmont will pay royalties to Disney and
_not_ own the finished comics. Why is this so? Especially considering
the fact that (at least in the U.S.) Disney comics are that hot a
property that Disney could pick and choose among interested publishers.
So what would happen if Egmont said: "From now on we want to own the
stories we pay for - or otherwise we will stop having any new ones
created?"

Cord