A spoiler nibble for fans of Captain Hook

[sarah_tn]

A nibble for fans of Captain Hook / Colin O’Donoghue

It’s here:
http://onceuponatime.wikia.com/wiki/Manhattan

Here is a question I have. I read the comments, and where someone said they are milking Captain Hook for all he's worth because they could loose the rights to Hook at anymoment. Why would #ouat loose the rights to Captain Hook? I thought the rights for both him, and Peter Pan were purchased by ABC for use by this show.

[mich7]

Saw that on the wiki…I don’t know why they said that. Don’t have anything on Captain Hook but I do have a link on the rights to Peter Pan…doesn’t look as restricted as a lot of people seem to think…in fact according to the article some of the books are in public domain.
http://daisybooks.com/FAQS.html

[sarah_tn]

Well the comments I read did sound a little biast toward the poster’s own preferences, so I didn’t know whether I should take what he said as fact. If Peter Pan is publc domain though, and being that ABC is owned by Disney, it looks to me like K&H are free to use Captain Hook any way they want to, any time they want to, and where they’ll ever want to. That makes me happy, because if he’s not around in season 3, even though it’s just a tv show, I know I might actually cry real tears!

[em28]

I don’t believe in anything that anyone says unless I see proof. This person doesn’t have any proof of the writers/directors/cast stating this. This person is either misinformed or is trying to get the Hook fans into a frenzy.
And there is no way that the show can lose the rights to Hook this quickly. When a company gives the rights to a show/movie, the show explain how they will use the character and the company must agree to all this to give the show their rights. They can’t just pull out and make them stop using the charcter; this is all signed.
But I highly doubt that Once Upon a Time would lose the rights to Hook because ABC (or is it Disney) would know what they are using the character for and obviously approve of it. Why would they suddenly change their mind.
Don’t worry, Hook is here to stay for a very long time.

[playarita]

That’s interesting but I wonder what exactly are they basing that on. The book itself is already in the public domain in the United States and Canada (since it is a US show filmed in Canada). Additionally the interpretation of Captain Hook is no where near close to the Disney film portrayal or the play both of which are still under copyright. This is the wiki article on public domain…

But since ABC is owned by Disney wouldn’t that make Once Upon A Time essentially a Disney production then wouldn’t they have some leeway in possibly using Disney as an influence?

Still very interesting…

[sarah_tn]

@em28 wrote:

I don’t believe in anything that anyone says unless I see proof. This person doesn’t have any proof of the writers/directors/cast stating this. This person is either misinformed or is trying to get the Hook fans into a frenzy.
And there is no way that the show can lose the rights to Hook this quickly. When a company gives the rights to a show/movie, the show explain how they will use the character and the company must agree to all this to give the show their rights. They can’t just pull out and make them stop using the charcter; this is all signed.
But I highly doubt that Once Upon a Time would lose the rights to Hook because ABC (or is it Disney) would know what they are using the character for and obviously approve of it. Why would they suddenly change their mind.
Don’t worry, Hook is here to stay for a very long time.

I know I’ve said this before, but I wish we had a “like” button for good posts. Thanks, for the info! 😀

[playarita]

I wonder what influence would Great Ormond Street Hospital, who holds copyright of Peter Pan could have over the representation of Hook in any form even if based on the book or not directly related to the Disney film, the play or other deriative works. The UK granted did grant them perpetual rights (because Barrie had given the hospital the rights so that they could gain the revenue from the copyright). Perhaps they have some say in how the character is represented?

[sarah_tn]

@playarita wrote:

I wonder what influence would Great Ormond Street Hospital, who holds copyright of Peter Pan could have over the representation of Hook in any form even if based on the book or not directly related to the Disney film, the play or other deriative works. The UK granted did grant them perpetual rights (because Barrie had given the hospital the rights so that they could gain the revenue from the copyright). Perhaps they have some say in how the character is represented?

I’m not a lawyer, but I do know you’d also have to consider how any statutes of limitations, and/or any matter of precedent might calculate into the issue. For example, did they relinquish any rights to have any say when Disney, and other entities utilized the story of Peter Pan in their own forms, for so many years, and they chose not to participate in any way which would have made them a part of creative control. By not participating, they may have set a precedent, reflected when story of Peter Pan (and it’s characters) became public domain. After all of the movies, the books, the cartoons, the books, and stage plays, a would a general principle of common law have resulted after the participants of those events completed their work and profited from it, and having done so for over 100 years? If my reasoning is correct, then this might or might not be subject to any statutes of limitations which I’m sure would have long since expired.

[AllThatGlitters]

If they did lose the Hook rights (which I doubt will happen), they could always start calling him Killian Jones and drop the Hook name.

Find me on tumblr: http://allthatglittersonce.tumblr.com

[sarah_tn]

@AllThatGlitters wrote:

If they did lose the Hook rights (which I doubt will happen), they could always start calling him Killian Jones and drop the Hook name.

True. There’d still be a lot they could do with him, so it’s not like it’d ruin anything since his back story is already established, told, and part of the character’s history.

[Author]

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