Chair Designer Sues Disney Over Chair Used In Alice In Wonderland Movie
from the down-the-rabbit-hole dept
Reader ScaredOfTheMan points us to the news that a chair designer is suing Disney for allegedly using one of "his" chairs in the movie Alice in Wonderland. He's demanding a $50,000 "decoration fee." We've pointed out the ridiculous lengths filmmakers must go to these days -- with lawyers scouring every part of a film to make sure no intellectual property is used without a license, but at some point you have to just ask what these people are thinking. Imagine if every chair in every movie required a "decoration fee." And if we're doing chairs, then tables must be included as well. And couches. And doors. Don't forget the windows. Wall paper on the walls? Did you pay the designer? Welcome to the logical conclusion of permission culture run amok.![Hide This Hide this](https://ii.techdirt.com/s/t/i/topclose.png)
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: alice in wonderland, chair, designer
Companies: disney
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Copyright protects culture, eh?
After all, everything is either patented or copyright or both these days, right?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Any cite to the complaint?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Agreed. Aren't the documents used to file a lawsuit very explicit about which law is actually being broken? Or do the lawyers just make up terms like "decoration fee" and hope that no one notices they didn't actually cite a law which was broken?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
I know where the case was filed. I know the parties' names. I cannot get access to the LAC Superior Court documents because the site demands search fees, document download fees, and a host of other fees.
Between fees such as this and PACER I am getting increasingly ticked off at my inability to access public documents without some agency (here the courts) holding me hostage for money. As much as I hate "fees" (a euphemism adopted by polititians so they can say "Hey, we held the line on taxes!"), I can see some tenuous rationale when human intervention is needed. But for God's sake...we are talking about online access without any need for human intervention.
If techdirt wants to rant about something, put copyright, patents, etc. aside for a while and give this issue some much needed attention. We should not as taxpayers have to fork over more money for digital copies of public documents.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: "Fees"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: "Fees"
Perhaps I should be charged a fee before being admitted to talk with a politico.
Same goes for public schools (over 50% of my property taxes).
Some things are simply fundamental government services, and I have a difficult time exempting our courts from such services.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: "Fees"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: "Fees"
As an ideal model, I agree with what you're saying. Practically, however, I still feel like the idea needs to be mulled over. I assume that things aren't actually this bad but suppose that the funds didn't exist for there even to be a clerk at the courthouse to help you. Is it essential that they GIVE you the record or merely that it is available for you to access it? Would letting you into a room full of filing cabinets full of court decisions be sufficient? If you think that a clerk to help you locate the file in question is necessary, then consider the tradeoffs. What other services could/should a cash-strapped courthouse sacrifice to employ that clerk? As with most things government, many people demand more services than their tax dollars are sufficient to fund. Is this necessarily the case? I don't know. Anecdotal evidence, at least, suggests that lots of local and state governments really do have to make choices like this.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: "Fees"
Are you also saying that we should be required to pay money to know the law?
Imagine this hypothetical situation.
You want to do something, but you are not sure if it is legal (say start a business). So you decide that you need to obtain some money in order to pay people to find out if your new business will be legal. In order to make your money you get a job, as you are driving to your first day at McDonalds you get pulled over by a cop. You do not have a insurance (after all, you didn't know you were required by law to have it - theres a fee for that). What now?
The idea of a fee based culture because "government agencies don't have the money" is possibly one of the worst ideas I have ever heard.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: "Fees"
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: "Fees"
If politicians couldn't afford office supplies without charging constituents for their time, then I would endorse an audience fee.
Public schools... actually they sort of already charge a fee. Why are students being asked to provide paper towels, hand soap, and sandwich bags? (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/15/business/economy/15supplies.html)
The answer is simple: if the public demands a service but the tax dollars don't exist to fund that service, then the government agency has to get creative. A citizen may begrudgingly pay the fee but they'd be even more cross if the service didn't exist at all.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re:
Have you tried to move your medical records lately? I had to move (damn layoffs) and it cost me 75$ to get a copy of my medical records for my new doctor because i wasn't gonna drive 500 miles every time I needed to see a PCP. What is WORSE is that was HARD COPY! If I wanted to just download them it was well over $150!!!! This is information about ME! Why do I have to pay for MY information???
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
Quote from his website: "CASINO CHAIRS ARE COPYRIGHT INVENTION"
Honestly; I do not know whether to laugh or lose my mind.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Doesn't make sense...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Doesn't make sense...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Doesn't make sense...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Doesn't make sense...
Anyway, is that free exposure and immortalization worth $50,000? Maybe not. Maybe he might get sued if he tries to use photos of his chair in the movie to sell his chairs. When you jump down the rabbit hole into fantasy lawyer land, anything goes.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Well...
I'd wager he'll drop the suit after a few weeks, just long enough to get him and his company's name swirling around for a bit.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Well...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Lame
The chair doesn't even look like his chairs:
http://www.alibaba.com/product-free/107927161/CASINO_CHAIR/showimage.html
The guy is just a bottom-feeder looking to get a payoff to go away.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Lame
He has a snowball's chance in hell if he goes to court. And if Disney has any sense(???) They'll crucify this guy as an example to others.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Lame
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Re: Lame
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Well...
This is a perfect example how copyright confines with ownership...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This is how they deal with the situation they create a proxy company that will bear all the problems and can be discarded if it fails for any reason.
Isn't IP great?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Disney?
Payback's a bitch, ain't it Walt?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Disney?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re: Disney?
Unlike 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife - this is irony.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
What a delusional guy
And the chair design would probably not qualify for a copyright itself. A copyright is a protected expression work that can be transferred onto another medium, in other words, copyright is generally medium neutral. The design of chair could be protected by a design patent, but I doubt he has one of those either and he would still have to sue in Federal Court.
I would love to see the complaint.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: Re:
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
So Dumb
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
You clearly don't understand
You are just writing this story from that viewpoint to be a troll and get more hits. Congratulations.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]