Working With Disney Characters

[Matt Yaklin]

Inline below:

> Greetings!
> 
> I am happy to see that we have some discussion here again! 
> [ob_smileys11.gif]
> 
> Matt asked:
> 
> If someone wanted to create new stories/art.. just how many hoops do
> they have to jump through to even create a new comic containing a
> Scrooge story?
> I can tell you my brother's opinion, who has an entertainment company in Cal
> ifornia.  It is a huge hassle
> to deal with Disney!  Obviously many companies do, but Disney does not make 
> it easy: layers of
> bureaucracy, pickiness, and of course a large percentage or fee for licensin
> g the character.
> His company looked into the possibility of online comic books, after Gladsto
> ne stopped publishing.
> But the profitability of such a venture was not obvious.
> And if you have not contracted with them for using a character, 
> they will eventually find you and demand that you cease and desist...
> or pay up!  [ob_smileys14.gif]   Of course, that is their right: they own th
> e characters!



Does a hobbyist (artist/story teller) have any rights to create something
that is not for sale but just to share?

For example, someone writes a nice 10 page Scrooge Story.
They then send the story to an artist who draws something up.
Using a cheap copy method they then create 50-100 comics and send
them out to others who wish to have one and those others just pay
for the shipping costs (say 5 bucks) to get it to them.

Would something like that run afowl of Disney?


I am just thinking out loud.

matt at G4.net



> Gary Leach wrote:
>  Is it reasonable to hope such career tracks still exist in other 
> climes than North America, in places (and markets) that nurtured the 
> likes of Scarpa, Rota, Branca, Vicar, to name just a few of the greats 
> who remain under-acknowleged over here? 
> It is nice to hear from Gary Leach!  Creativity knows no borders, 
> so a future Rosa/Barks could arise any place where Uncle Scrooge and
>  the Duckburg Universe are known! 
> 
> Best Wishes!
> Leo Schulte
> 
> 
> --
> 
> rock.com
> 
> 
>