On 13/02/07, Kim Plowright <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> (Yep - the BBC doesn't even own the Daleks...) The BBC owns *half* the daleks - specifically, the look and visual identity. The estate of Terry Nation owns their behaviour. So - if you want to use a picture of a dalek, you approach the BBC. If you want said dalek to move around shouting 'Exterminate!' you deal with the Nation estate. This is the case for most monsters and characters in classic Dr Who. The rights document detailing it all is a large beast. (Used to work on the Dr Who website.)
And here we see the absurdity of current copyright law. Why should money go to "the estate" of anyone? What work did they do in creating the daleks, Copyright should extend for n years (my opinion is 50 years, but 75 would be OK) or life, whichever is *shorter*, that would also prevent indefinite copyright extensions as Disney have done with Mickey Mouse.
