[QuadList] Rights and old shows (was 1959 Pontiac Star Parade)

[C. Park Seward]

Interesting, Ted.

I guess it comes down to what is in the contract and what isn't.

My contract (for professional services) with the Walt Disney Company  
says that my work is "for hire" and belongs to them "for any and all  
purposes whatsoever." It continues that I, "hereby assigns and/or  
grants, in consideration for the compensation provided hereunder, all  
rights, including, without limitations, all exclusive exploitation  
rights, of every kind and nature, in and such Works to Disney. The  
Works are owned by Disney, "solely and exclusively, for the duration  
of the rights in each country, in all languages, and throughout the  
world in perpetuity." It then talks about "New Exploitation Rights" to  
cover anything that had yet to be invented, saying, "without further  
compensation to Consultant."  It then says I cannot challenge the use  
of the rights, "through the courts, administrative governmental  
bodies, private organizations, and/or in any other manner." Also, it  
owns my image and likeness, "and the right to use and re-use pictures,  
silhouettes and other reproductions of Consultants likeness and  
voice...in all media, whether now known and/or hereafter devised,  
throughout the Universe in perpetuity."

So it depends on what Fred signed when he did his TV special. It's  
possible someone owns the special and his estate may not be in line  
for any payments.

Best,
Park

C. Park Seward
Cell: 818-535-2747
Home: 949-679-1870
Visit us: http://www.videopark.com



On Dec 28, 2008, at 2:01 PM, Ted Langdell wrote:

> Hi, Park and David
>
> I'd think the problem with seeing some of these shows being released  
> on DVD is related to clearing various rights and making payments.
>
> Rights would include the various "star" appearances and performance  
> rights to the music and likely payments to musicians (or their  
> estates) who were part of the orchestras involved. The time involved  
> might be rather costly. Among other things. :(
>
> Unfortunately, television producers and networks weren't able to or  
> didn't "think into the future" and secure the rights for  
> distribution 50+ years later.
>
> Too bad, since I think there's a market for DVD's of shows like  
> these, just as we're seeing markets for current programs and old  
> movies.
>
> As I mentioned in my previous post about the Gene Kelly Pontiac  
> show, KTLA Engineer Don Kent and Engineer/Historian Ed Reitan were  
> involved in the transfer of the 1958 Astaire special and other early  
> Quad color tapes.
>
> As part of a series of e-mails how that came about, Don e-mailed that:
>
> "The Astaire masters were found by a former employee of the UCLA  
> Archive who was then working for Universal.  He found them in their  
> tape library.  They didn't even know they had them.  They were there  
> because Astaire had a distribution deal with them, but primarily (I  
> think) because of his movies.
>
> When Astaire died, Universal sold the "restored" shows to Disney.   
> They hadn't even been done yet!
>
> The restored D-2 is owned by Universal and is there now.  The  
> original quads are in the UCLA Film and Television Archive in  
> Hollywood."
>
> In a follow up he notes: "Mrs. Astaire insisted, through her lawyer,  
> that we add a copyright date at the end of the original credits.  We  
> did, but I really don't think that show was copyrighted back then."
>
> This LA Times article from 1997... http://articles.latimes.com/1997/aug/17/entertainment/ca-23118
>
> indicates many of Astaire's films are controlled by Turner, and goes  
> into the how Astaire's widow, Robyn, was handling clip requests—high  
> fees, potential users said—and outlines a legal battle she waged  
> against a production company tied to a chain of licensed Astaire  
> dance studios.  The videos used public domain clips from old Astaire  
> movies at the head of a series of "how to dance" videos.
>
> David: Is this what you might have been referring to?
>
> Astaire's widow fought that usage all the way to the US Supreme  
> Court, which rejected hearing an appeal of an appellate court  
> decision in favor of the dance video clip usage.
>
> She went to Sacramento and got then Sen. John Burton to sponsor SB  
> 209, which became law in 1999.
> http://www.supnik.com/cc33441.htm
>
> Among other things, it extended the right of heirs to control  
> deceased celebrities images from 50 years to 70 years from their  
> death.
>
> The law was amended in 2007 to include people like Marilyn Monroe,  
> who died before the 1999 revision was in place. The revision made  
> the "Astaire Celebrity Image Protection Act" benefits retroactive:
> http://www.hklaw.com/id24660/PublicationId2331/ReturnId31/contentid50127/
>
> So even if any copyrights expire soon... the right to use a deceased  
> person's performance in an early videotape may not be something easy  
> to come by.
>
> Universal and/or Disney obviously was able to make arrangements for  
> the Astaire specials, so it is possible... but it would be nice to  
> know the cost.
>
> Ted
>
> Ted Langdell
>
> Secretary for the QuadVideotapeGroup.com:
> Preserving Tape, Equipment and the Knowledge to use them, in  
> conjunction with the Library of Congress
> ted at quadvideotapegroup.com
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