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Topic: FABLES creator releases hit series into the public domain Post ReplyPost New Topic
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Rodrigo castellanos
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Joined: 03 July 2012
Location: Uruguay
Posts: 1493
Posted: 15 September 2023 at 3:40am | IP Logged | 1 post reply
Found this interesting:


Bill Willingham apparently released his series FABLES into the public domain, after years of contention with DC.

I'm no expert in legalese, so I don't quite fully understand the implications, nor have I read the series. (I did play the Telltale game, which is apparently a major issue in the whole conflict).

Also, aren't these characters in the public domain already? Very similar case to League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. I'm guessing it's this particular treatment that is now public domain?

Would appreciate how you guys interpret this whole situation.
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Trevor Smith
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Joined: 21 September 2006
Location: Canada
Posts: 3533
Posted: 15 September 2023 at 11:49am | IP Logged | 2 post reply
One of Willingham's responses to being asked what kinds of
things DC has done to bring him to this point:

"They are often late reporting royalties, and often under-
report said royalties, forcing me to go after them to pay
the rest of what’s owed."

It occurs to me that this kind of thing must be an absolute
nightmare for a creator to keep track of. I have to admit
that in his shoes, I would probably just take the cheque
and assume the number was correct.
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Charles Valderrama
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Joined: 16 April 2004
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Posted: 15 September 2023 at 2:19pm | IP Logged | 3 post reply
DC was never really a safe place for creators. Willingham's actions are surprising and it's be interesting how this develops.

-C!
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Daniel Gillotte
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Joined: 11 October 2005
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Posted: 15 September 2023 at 5:49pm | IP Logged | 4 post reply
I'm pretty curious about this. I guess the artists were work for hire? So can one freely use their versions of these characters? I wonder how they feel about it.

I understand what he's saying- dealing with large corporations can suck because they have lawyers on staff and an independent contractor needs to pay a lawyer on retainer or whatever so any gains potentially go, at least in part to legal fees.
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Eric Jansen
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Joined: 27 October 2013
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Posted: 16 September 2023 at 1:43am | IP Logged | 5 post reply
Did he pay the artists?
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Dave Kopperman
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Joined: 27 December 2004
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Posted: 16 September 2023 at 2:47pm | IP Logged | 6 post reply
I wonder if DC's treatment of freelancers has ended up getting worse under the new Discovery/WB merger? Given how little interest they've shown in the livelihood of creators on the film/TV side of things, practices like royalties and creator-owned works that were hard-won in the comics industry must seem antithetical to corporate interests.
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William Costello
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Joined: 30 August 2012
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Posts: 748
Posted: 18 September 2023 at 3:00pm | IP Logged | 7 post reply
The FABLES Issue #150 (from 2015) has the following notation: "Copyright (c) 2015 Bill Willingham and DC Comics. All Rights Reserved. All characters, their distinctive likeness and related elements featured in this publication are trademarks of Bill WIllingham."

What that actually means: I have no idea.
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John Popa
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Joined: 20 March 2008
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Posted: 18 September 2023 at 6:30pm | IP Logged | 8 post reply
DC has naturally fired back and said they still own whatever they own as it relates to "Fables." 

I'm among those curious to see how this all plays out.
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