Thanks, Yoc.
here's what I posed to PDSH on her entry:
As I wished to use original images of Nelvana in a print on demand comic, I contacted both Corus and the National Archives to determine if that was copyright infringement. This is part of what I was told in writing:
Library and Archives Canada holds joint copyright with Nelvana Ltd. only for the published comics held in the Bell Features fonds in our collection. If you were to simply reproduce images, etc. ‘as is’ from these specific comics, Library and Archives Canada and Nelvana Ltd. would issue a licence to you. This is not the case with your current project which is to redefine the Nelvana character. Therefore, a licence from Library and Archives Canada is not required.
Library and Archives Canada holds no rights to any trademarks or other moral rights (i.e. modifications to images) in the Bell Feature comics, more specifically, to the Nelvana of the Northern Lights character.
Based on the material I supplied previously (see "Public Domain") above, it appears to be that the copyright to the Bell Features comics was bought and ultimately sold to Corus/NAC. Although they hold no right or interest in the use or modification of the image of the character, they appear to hold copyright in the Bell Features comics themselves.
Take that for what you may. For further information on the issue, contact Corus/NAC directly. 'Moral rights' is a feature of Canadian copyright law and would reside with the Dingle Estate.
Hi Roy,
I just finished reading the 'Nelvana of the Northern Lights' collection which I'd recommend. A couple things come to mind.
One - she appears to not be the public domain. The forward tells the story of her copyright.
The other is she travelled in her first adventures with her brother, an equally powered being who could only appear as a giant Great Dane when white people are around. He would transform when she put her cloak over him.
You can see some about her and the book here -
http://nelvanacomics.com/history/real-nelvana/
-Yoc
