And guess what, copyright in its current form is stupid. I put my money where my mouth is, there is no reason why the timer should only start after someone dies, there is no reason for the timer to last 70 years, there is no reason for archetypal characters to be protected by copyright. But all this is just a little stupid, the really stupid thing is somewhere else. Lucasfilm, a division of Walt Disney Studios, actually gives fan filmmakers a legal license to use Star Wars intellectual property (IP), but with restrictions. The only way to get the license is to participate in their fan movie contest. The contest grants the license only for a small window of time, the license contains many restrictions, the license expires at the end of the contest, the right to use Star Wars intellectual property ends with this expiration, but Lucasfilm always retains a permanent and irrevocable license to use these fan films in any way they deem appropriate. Thank you for your help with this Lucasfilm. It`s good to see that you always take care of the fans. Copyright, as it currently stands, must fall. Must die. However, copyright, as originally intended, is a useful thing as long as it does not mutate and get out of control. I demand that stolen works be returned, that stolen rights be returned, then, and only then, would I accept that copyright is valid, legal, moral and appropriate.
There`s nothing „crazy“ about it. Only these companies use the legal rights granted to them by copyright. The problem is that tech libertarians have no principled opposition to copyright (or patents), so they can only mumble „abuse“ if someone actually uses the rights the law gives them. If you want to criticize the rights holders here, you criticize the state because it gave them those rights in the first place. How they use them is irrelevant. Although it is a derivative work, it is extremely original in what it does with the Harry Potter story and deserves to be recognized as a creative work in its own right. But under the legal status quo, it does not have the inherent right to exist and only exists because the Harry Potter rights holders did not choose to exercise their prerogative to get rid of it. It`s absurd to expect companies not to use the rights at their disposal Vader Episode 1: Shards of the Past is now ad-free on YouTube after Lucasfilm saved the project. In addition, he said that his plans to create Episode II of the Vader fan movie franchise will continue to go as planned, but he doesn`t plan to use the theme or score in the next one so it doesn`t happen again.
Star Wars fans around the world have started spreading the Toos story on social media. As the story spread, anger also grew, especially after Toos was threatened with lawsuits, including the destruction of Star Wars Theory`s YouTube channel. It was very different from the fans trying to beat Disney in a troll effort, they were hardcore fans who were passionate about the franchise and championed something that would have encouraged George Lucas. Threats of a boycott of Star Wars 9, as well as the rest of Disney`s list of upcoming releases, seem to have reached the people at the top. Yesterday, January 16, Star Wars Theory posted another update video on its channel regarding Disney`s copyright claim, but this time it was good news. According to him, Lucasfilm intervened after a backlash from Star Wars fans, telling Disney that Theory had made the film according to certain rules and that they should release the copyright claim they had made on the Vader fan film. „So what“ really doesn`t apply to thousands of dollars. In addition, many artists today can start making money long before big companies call. Warner/Chappel could easily win a possible lawsuit. They argue that the film`s music is based on the original composition of Star Wars themes, which is actually the case. The fact that the film is non-commercial does not mean that every use is fair use, there are other factors that play a role.
Last year, he announced that he was considering developing a Darth Vader fan film and that he had received a blessing from Lucasfilm to pursue it, despite several rules he had to follow. Legal classifications aside, studios tend to look the other way when it comes to individual creative expression from fans, as fan engagement can increase the brand value of movies. even if this expression can clearly support an infringement action. Lucasfilm understands that, and make no mistake, so does Disney. Disney won`t waste its time, money, and reputation suing Star Wars fans unless there`s a very compelling reason. What they will certainly do, however, is tirelessly defend any unauthorized commercial use of their property – and rightly so. Disney is a company whose value is measured by the value of its portfolio of intangible assets. a portfolio amassed largely through acquisitions of third parties (ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Marvel and now Lucasfilm).
The assets in this portfolio are worth billions (Disney reportedly paid more than $4 billion for Lucasfilm properties alone), so the idea that Disney won`t rigorously protect its newly acquired assets from uses it deems harmful is wishful thinking. This is not to say that Disney intends to take action against any May 4 corporate tribute that contains an unlicensed Star Wars trademark or copyrighted material. But that means the company has a vested interest in keeping a close eye on how some of its most valuable properties are used by commercial third parties. When he started making the Vader movie, he contacted Lucasfilm, who gave him their blessing to do it as long as he was doing it without crowdfunding and leaving the video unmonetized, meaning there would be no advertising on it, so there would be no revenue to be made from it. Exactly. It`s not technically vandalism if I decide to put an aerosol can on the walls of my own living room. This does not mean that the end result is positive. Someone who tells me it`s not a good idea while I open the lid isn`t trying to take away my legal rights.
In one of his own on the 14th. In the January update, Theory informed its fans that Disney and its partner company Warner Chappell have filed a copyright infringement claim on its film and will now monetize the film itself and collect money directly from advertising revenue. The reason for this was that one of the film`s scores used an interpretation of March`s imperial score, which gave him a right to the film. Whoa, whoa, whoa, it`s NOT illegal to attend a Nickelback concert?! Which, yes, brings it all back to where it was before Disney decided to take over all the work of a fan film on one of the most well-known and most used songs in all musical scores on the planet. And that, by the way, after Disney initially refused to give in to Toos` request. The good news is that the copyright claim and reaction drew a lot of attention to the Star Wars Theory channel and the fan movie „Vader.“ That doesn`t hurt the support he receives through Patreon and other means, which is convenient since Newsweek notes that the film cost around $150,000. It reminds me of the Harry Potter story and the methods of rationality. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest fan works ever created. It begins with the premise that instead of a loser like Vernon Dursley, Aunt Petunia had instead married a scientist, a good man who had lovingly raised the orphan Harry and taught him science. And then Harry receives the letter from Hogwarts, discovers that the magic is real, and begins to use his scientific training to wreak havoc on the whole plot.
„Lucasfilm and Disney have been completely crazy when it comes to intellectual property protectionism.“ Which probably makes it really annoying that Disney claimed the video on YouTube because a short coverage of the Imperial March was included in the film, and then decided to put its own ad on the video. Theory had the option to appeal, which it wouldn`t do because it would probably lose, and then Disney would scrap the film and possibly shut down its channel. To some extent, yes. However, many of the legal protections associated with copyright are either diminished or non-existent if you have not registered. Not all of them, of course, but it`s by no means as simple as „it`s automatic and you don`t need to register.“ On January 15, he released a second update video in which he explained the situation. In it, he revealed that Disney and Warner Chappell, who own the rights to the music for the Star Wars films, claim that although the score used in the film is not a direct copy of the Imperial March, it owns the rights to the composition and „that all covers, performances or re-recordings are subject to its copyright.“ Update: Lucasfilm has since removed the copyright claim. Read the story here. Disney/Lucasfilm has contact lists for different types of requests that would be there Last month, Star Wars fans were treated to the release of the popular, critically acclaimed Star Wars Theory fan film, Vader Episode 1: Shards of the Past. But it is absurd to expect companies not to take advantage of the legal rights they have. And if they do, we should identify the real problem: not the fact that these companies have used an existing law.
but the law itself. I mean, it`s like saying the problem with welfare is that if you give people free money, some people actually take it! I must like what counts as logic, which they used there too. If they hurt a song they own, they claim ownership of the whole film, because it`s clearly a proportional, reasonable and not at all overwhelming and greedy response. For those who haven`t seen it yet, I highly recommend giving it a try, as well as reading our review of the film.
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