Digital Comic Museum > News and Announcements
NOTICE - Fawcett Comics changes due to copyright status
paw broon:
This action and it's results, i.e. the books still available, does raise some interesting questions. We probably shouldn't go into them here right away.
Since DCM and CB+ went public with the situation, I've been in touch with a few other sites and none has received any communication from WB. A couple of the sites are highly visible and a couple are those which have the most recent issues scanned and available. All the sites have complete or extensive runs of Fawcett comics.
It is good that WB have been civil in their dealings with both sites, and it is absolutely correct that they have the right to defend their copyright. I also don't think that the communications between the parties should be made public at this time. Anyone wanting info. on "registration/numbers" etc. should be able to find it elsewhere.
As for the foreign reprints, it is interesting that many of the particularly Spanish language editions from S. America feature strips from a number of publishers. I have anthology books featuring Fawcett characters, Marvelman (plus Young and Kid)(which are Miller characters and nowadays part of the ongoing Miracleman debacle) and Superman in the same issue.
I'm waiting for a reply from a friend who's a bit of a comics historian, if only to get his views on this.
Just adding that the Uderzo story is O.K. as Bravo bought rights to produce new stories. Pheeeeewwww"
It is rather sad, and I have to admit, depressing. But if all is correct, that's it.
By the way, I wonder if any action has been taken about the unlicensed Spanish "Robin Y El Murcielago" comics, or the French language Superman stories from the '50's. There were runs of both titles. I have to go into your and our files to see if the Uderzo issue has been removed. Now that would be a shame.
Captain DJ:
--- Quote from: larrytalbot on April 10, 2019, 10:59:52 PM ---I thought that copyrights apply only to financial or business use of copyrighted material and that they are freely available for non-profit hobby or educational use. Also, how does Warners view buying and selling of old Fawcett comics? Are they now going to demand a share of a seller's profit from a comic book?
--- End quote ---
It all comes down to fair use.
Under certain circumstances, material can be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder. Even an school will still need to abide by copyright laws, a book can be photocopied fine as long as they don't exceed 10% of the book. A school might still have to hold a copyright license to allow this (depends on country law)
As for a hobby, as an artist you could make fan art of your favorite character fine but if you tried to sell this fan art on a t-shirt / poster you could end up in hot water if it still closely resembles the original character.
Disturbing a movie / comic etc as a hobby is still copyright infringement even if you don't make a profit. Under copyright law, it is illegal to download or share copyrighted materials such as music, comics or movies without the permission of the copyright owner. If this wasn't the case, file sharing music, movies, comics and games wouldn't be an issue and wouldn't be taken down. This defense has been used previously when the P2P programs were first under threat and the courts sided on the copyright holders.
As for selling / buying a physical comic book or a movie etc, once a copyright holder sells the copyrighted volume to a consumer, the copyright holder’s rights have been exhausted, and the consumer has the right to dispose of (not copy, but dispose of) the book any way he or she sees fit. If this didn't exist there would be no second hand market and this is why companies these days are pushing to digital versions of movies, books, games, comics because they retain the rights and you are restricted from selling the items so killing the second hand market. Most digital items these days are protected with Digital Rights Management (DRM) software.
PS. I'm not a lawyer so take all of the above with a pinch of salt and always do your own research
sandmountainslim:
Fortunately I have already downloaded all the Captain Marvel Adventures and Captain Marvel Jr and have them on my hard drive for future reading. I really disagree with their decision because they are never going to reprint these books particularly the ones which feature Steamboat and this is the only way many people have of enjoying these great Golden Age stories
crashryan:
It's pointless to discuss the fine points of copyright law, hobbies, and fair use, because in the present environment copyright law is whatever the biggest corporations with the most expensive lawyers say it is. Innovations like the astonishingly bad EU online content law, the concept of having material removed merely by claiming ownership real or imagined, putting public domain material back under copyright, and copyright terms that run into many times a person's lifetime, demonstrate that "rights" have little to do with what's fair or even legal (if the law gets in the way just pay for a new, favorable law). The overarching goal seems to be to convert every piece of "intellectual property" into a source of eternal rent. Nothing is ever "owned" by anyone but the conglomerate at the top. As I've said before regarding Mickey Mouse, what I'd like to see is fifty thousand creators all over the world simultaneously publish Captain Marvel books, posters, movies, and music. The system needs to be broken.
Roygbiv666:
--- Quote from: larrytalbot on April 10, 2019, 10:59:52 PM ---I thought that copyrights apply only to financial or business use of copyrighted material and that they are freely available for non-profit hobby or educational use. Also, how does Warners view buying and selling of old Fawcett comics? Are they now going to demand a share of a seller's profit from a comic book?
--- End quote ---
No. Copyright is a legal right, existing in many countries, that grants the creator of an original work exclusive rights to determine whether, and under what conditions, this original work may be used by others. They can prohibit or allow whatever they want.
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version