Video: Explaining copyright with Star Wars

Why you can’t make your own Star Wars movie until 2072. (via)

8 Replies to “Video: Explaining copyright with Star Wars

  1. Needless to say, there is a treasure trove of new star wars stories. Well, define “treasure”…

  2. Hmm. Seems a tad too negative to me. In this day and age, where people are constantly complaining about the unoriginality of Hollywood, do we really need every company jumping on the band wagon of each hot new trend? Would it really be better to have 8 different studios all releasing Harry Potter films at the same time?

    Also “copyright is bad because George Lucas doesn’t need more money” seems a huge oversimplification. What about all the filmmakers/authors/artists (and their families, who benefit after their death) who aren’t super-rich and depend on royalties for a living?

    And why pick on Lucas specifically (other than because fanboys hate him)? Seems to me he’s just one of many benefitting from the system. If anything, Disney is worse, pushing for the extension of copyright when Mickey Mouse comes close to being public domain.

    Like Nanci said, this guy really needs to discover fanfiction.

  3. I’m not really sure what the problem actually is in all of this. Shouldn’t we be encouraging new writers to come up with original characters and settings to tell their stories in? This seems like a lot of overwrought complaining from someone who got told that he couldn’t make money on his super-cool fanfic. Either that or someone has taken the idea of “there are no original stories left” way, way too far.

  4. He also left out the whole Trademark wrench. Trademarks like Batman and Star Wars can be renewed indefinitely. I’m pretty certain Mickey Mouse is Trademarked.

    Sure there would be more Star Wars movies without copyrights and trademarks….but would they be worth watching?

    Disney can’t stop people from making new Alice in Wonderland or Alladin movies. You just can’t copy their scripts and designs.

    Personally, I’m glad to know that my death wouldn’t declare open season on the books I leave behind, but that they might help support my children/relatives for a while. And very few authors make close to what Rowling and Lucas make.

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