For those who have watched A.I, I have a question?!
Question: It just came to mind when i watched it the other day, and I'm curious about how movie business works. Do they require to get permission or buy copyright or something like that to Walt Disney for telling a Pinocchio story in the movie? I'm just curious.
Answers: It just came to mind when i watched it the other day, and I'm curious about how movie business works. Do they require to get permission or buy copyright or something like that to Walt Disney for telling a Pinocchio story in the movie? I'm just curious.
In the case of Pinocchio - well, no, since the Disney movie was based on a 19th century Italian book to begin with. It's out of copyright. As long as they don't use the Disney artwork, then they're free to talk about Pinocchio or draw their own Blue Fairy based on the book.
But for other properties - yes. You need permission to use clips from other films, you need permission to show a character from a previous film in a sequel if they're not in it, you need permission to use some trademarked names, you need permission to use songs and recordings...this sort of thing keeps lots of lawyers plenty busy.
By "permission" I mean a contract which stipulates some kind of payment. This is why, when there's something on TV in the a show or film, it's almost always a property owned by the studio producing the show or film in the first place - so they don't have to pay anybody else.
To take your Disney example - most of those early movies are based on uncopyrighted fairy tales or old books. Nobody owns Cinderella. But say you want your android child who truly loves to talk about, uh, Toy Story instead of Pinocchio as his inspiration. You could reference it - "I saw a movie where toys became real!" - but the legal department would probably get nervous if you mentioned it by name, or talked about Buzz or Woody, and you would need to obtain rights to show a poster, even, or characters or clips.
Then again, if it's not Disney making the movie, they probably wouldn't WANT you to mention some other studio's movie - it seems like you're endorsing the competition.
yes they have to get permission