Kim Jong Un's Mysterious Female Companion Hides The Real Issue: Piracy Of Disney Characters!

from the really? dept

Thu, Jul 12th 2012 5:16am — Mike Masnick

There's an almost entirely silly article over at CNN speculating -- with absolutely no knowledge -- about the identity of a woman seen frequently with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. I'm not quite sure how that makes a news story, but what caught Dark Helmet's eye was that in this bizarre little story, there was a bit from Disney, in which it felt compelled to mention that a performance seen by Kim and the woman that included Disney characters was not authorized:

The mystery woman accompanied the young leader to a Pyongyang theater on Friday night to watch a performance of North Korea's Moranbong band. The display included a cast of Disney characters, attracting the attention of The Walt Disney Company which issued a statement Tuesday saying it had not authorized their use.

As if (1) anyone cared about that or (2) anyone actually thought that Disney had licensed its characters to the North Korean government for a special performance.

This is what happens when, as a company, you seem to have infringement-on-the-brain, and think anything and everything must absolutely be framed within the context of whether or not something is infringing.

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Filed Under: kim jong un, licensing, moranbong, north korea
Companies: disney

63 Comments

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silverscarcat (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:18am

And now you know...

The rest of the story.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:19am

pirate mike supporting copyright infringement by communist states. When will this madness end, something must be done.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:24am

Re:
sarcasm?

Also, they're dictators. They have the say whether any use of a charater is infingement under the law.
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droozilla (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:24am

Ummm....
Didn't Disney STEAL the intellectual property of the Grimm Brothers with damn near EVERY ANIMATED MOVIE THEY'VE MADE?

They should probably stfu.
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Arhac, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:25am

Re:
Not sure if ironic or from the The Walt Disney Company.
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Dave, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:25am

Missing the point
You are missing the point. The problem is that there is not nearly enough celebrity gossip in the west, we need to know more!
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martyburns (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:29am

Would have been funnier
It would have been funnier if Kim Jong Un's female companion was actually Minnie Mouse.
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Richard (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:36am

Duhhh
The Walt Disney Company which issued a statement Tuesday saying it had not authorized their use.

Their use was undoubtedly authorised by Kim Jong Un or someone in his government - and in North Korea that is all that matters.

Has Disney not noticed that North Korea is a sovereign state that has not signed up for any international intellectual property obligations and that Disney therefore has no "rights" there to be infringed!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:36am

anyone like to speculate as to the action Disney is going to take against N.Korea? anyone like to speculate as to whether N.Korea is going to give a flying fuck what Disney (or anyone else from the West come to that) thinks or says?
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:42am

Obviously what we need to do now is hand the North Koreans several thousand advanced computers so they will be capable of licensing this content from Disney for future performances.
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Constantinos, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:43am

Overreacting on this news
Mike, I'm a huge fan of this site, and been a faithful reader since 2005, but I think this is an overreaction on your (our?) part.

All I can see from the article, is a company trying hard to distance itself from negative publicity. Authorizing a copyrighted work (whether that's required or not) isn't just about the copyright itself, it also gives implicit approval of the derivative work.

I don't believe Disney was after a copyright claim here, and (as much as I despise the company itself), have to say that this statement is the minimum I'd expect from them, as well as the maximum - Implicit approval of the North Korean regime is not something any corporation would want on its resume.
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Torg (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:44am

Re: Ummm....
Because all those stories originated with the Grimm brothers. It's not like they just made an anthology of folk tales or anything.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:46am

OMG, Disney is selling content to North Korea, I must boycott them for life!

OMG, North Korea's government is infringing on Disney's IP, they must be terrible people, we should invade them for the crime! I would have never guessed this if Disney hadn't pointed out the crime!
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John Doe, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:46am

Can war be averted?
I sure hope Disney doesn't get us into a war with North Korea. I am hopeful diplomatic talks can calm the furor here and cooler head will prevail.
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Richard (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:50am

Re:
anyone like to speculate as to the action Disney is going to take against N.Korea?

I'd prefer to speculate about the actions that N. Korea might take against Disney...
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zippy, 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:56am

Re: Re:
If they nuked Disney, that might not be so bad for the rest of us.
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Niall (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 5:58am

Re:
Just trying to set up for the US to 'invade' NK to 'liberate' stolen imaginary 'property'. Because goodness knows that's more important than if they've got nukes, or might send a couple of million soldiers over the DMZ...
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Niall (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:00am

Re: Overreacting on this news
I think he's just pointing out Disney's over-obsession with IP, even to the point of wrecking a perfectly normal gossip article. And that over-obsession affects a lot of things in the US and elsewhere - after all, Mickey Mouse age MUST be less than length of copyright...
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Josef Anvil (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:02am

Simple solution
The entire legal dept of Disney should fly to North Korea and lodge a formal protest in person.

I'm pretty sure Kim Jong Un will have a reasonable response prepared for them.
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Constantinos, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:03am

Re: Re: Overreacting on this news
Absolutely agree about Disney's over-obsession with IP, but I don't think this is it. I believe it's less to do with IP and more to do with bad press.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:04am

This is why I rarely read CNN anymore.

About reading I just took a look at DSLreports and found this news:

Aereo win first round: injunction denied [paidcontent.org]
Study: slow and unreliable broadband affecting London�s economy [techworld.com] (And people say the interwebz is not valuable)
Government Officials Warn of Wireless Patent Wars [cio.com] (Warning is different from doing something about it)
Android rules U.S. and Europe smartphone sales [cnet.com]
How Amazon�s ambitious new push for same-day delivery will destroy local retail [slate.com]
UK Web snooping bill an 'odious shopping list of new gov powers' [theregister.co.uk]
Viacom Yanks Free TV Shows From Web Amid DirecTV Impasse [multichannel.com] (Oh this will be good)
Lawmakers Accuse FCC of Hypocrisy on Internet Regulation [cio.com]
The piracy pitfalls of offering public Wi-Fi [itpro.co.uk]
Who�s afraid of Google fiber? Time Warner for starters [gigaom.com] (See what happens when you poke a bear?)
Netflix's lost year: The inside story of the price-hike train wreck [cnet.com] (The industry apparently will get what they want, the end of Netflix and with it the end of profits LoL)

On TorrentFreak:
Censoring The Pirate Bay is Futile, ISPs Reveal

So long for the wet dreams of the MAFIAA.
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DannyB (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:04am

This demonstrates why
This is a perfect example of why North Korea desperately needs large numbers of top of the line supercomputers in order to help not just its patent searches, but all kinds of intellectual property searches.

They also need a very fat pipe to the internet so that their computers can gobble down torrents of western content for comparative study.

Disney wants us to cheer WIPO recently giving North Korea computers in violation of sanctions.
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Pixelation, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:17am

This just proves that the North Korean government is a Mickey Mouse operation.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:18am

Isn't North Korea a signatory state of ACTA and TPP? My bad.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:18am

Re:
Disney vs North Korea!
Two dictatorships battle for control of the Mouse!
Who will win?

Quite frankly, I wouldn't mind seeing Disney send a few planeloads of lawyers over there...
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PaulT (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:19am

Re: Overreacting on this news
"All I can see from the article, is a company trying hard to distance itself from negative publicity."

That's actually the point. It should be blindingly obvious that NK doesn't licence anything officially, let alone anything from major Western corporations. That Disney not only feel they have to announce this, but do so on the basis of a random gossip article about something else (i.e. nobody has accused them of having licensed the works) indicates how farcical this whole thing has become.

"Implicit approval of the North Korean regime is not something any corporation would want on its resume."

I dare say Disney have worse on it already.
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sniperdoc (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:20am

We Todd Did...
I believe that the Walt Disney company wanted to make that statement less about copyright infringement, more so about the fact that:

1. So it doesn't get inundated by requests for the REAL Disney company to put on the same show that was put on in Korea.
2. So Disney is not recognized as supporting a Dictatorship that has its populace rotting in poverty and hunger.

Poor choice of words by Disney... yes.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:20am

Re: Overreacting on this news
"Authorizing a copyrighted work (whether that's required or not) isn't just about the copyright itself, it also gives implicit approval of the derivative work."

Let's see Disney sue North Korea!
Otherwise, it shows the Mouse is impotent!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:25am

Re: Overreacting on this news
This was my immediate thought as well. Disney isn't threatening to sue them or trying to recover damages or anything, they're just saying "hey guys, we didn't authorize this so don't get mad".

It makes everybody mad though because you used the word piracy!
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Michael, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:26am

It would be funny if it had been an "unauthorized performance" by school kids here in the US. I imagine as soon as Disney heard about it, there'd be a SWAT team swarming the school premises, busting through windows, et al.
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anon, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:27am

Calm down people
Disney is irrelevant anywhere else in the world as there content is never on tv, it is just too expensive to license. Most kids do not know what Disney is , unless they live in America where Disney seems to be glorified for some reason.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:28am

Re: Simple solution
Disney lawyers enter Kim Jung Un's reception chamber...
"Let us look around, so we can ease Disney's collective mind.
We'm sorry, but Disney must be firm with you.
Let us in, or else."

"Or else...what?"

"Or else we will be very angry with you...and we will write you a letter, telling you how angry we are."

"OK, I'll show you.
Stand to your reft."

Lawyers move to their reft, I mean left.

"A rittle more."

Lawyers move a little more.

"Good"

Kim Jong Un pulls switch, lawyers become shark food.

Everyone wins.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:36am

Re: Re: Overreacting on this news
Minne will be so disappointed
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:41am

Re: Overreacting on this news
"Overreacting on the news" is unfortunately one of the only things Pirate Mike knows how to do. I mean, how fucking stupid is this post? Whining about Disney, a company doing no more than distancing itself from a negative news story that involved the company. As a shareholder of their stock, I welcome the statement. Stories like this show just how desperate Pirate Mike is to say something--anything--negative about IP. Sorry, Mike, but you come across as just a whiny bitch--again. Congrats on being the internet's biggest douchebag!
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arcan, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:42am

Re: Re:
GREAT SCOTT, YOU MIGHT BE ON TO SOMETHING THERE. if we can get all the copyright and patent lawyers over to north korea and get them detained. such as hide a matyr in the group, we can solve a lot of problems. without all the lawyers there will be no where near as much of a legal mindset, and all the trolls will not be able to sue because there are no lawyers to run the "companies"
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:47am

Re: Calm down people
I know people who think mickey mouse is from kingdom hearts
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arcan, 12 Jul 2012 @ 6:50am

Re: Re: Overreacting on this news
lol irony you called mike a douchebag. i think his point is no one gives a damn that disney characters were used. it was entirely unnecessary for them to release a statement. and this is not even negative news. because guess what it is gossip. it has no real bearing on life. so get your head out of your anus and think things threw for once.
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PaulT (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 7:00am

Re: Re: Overreacting on this news
"As a shareholder of their stock,"

Awesome! I knew I needed a reason not to buy from them! Watching idiots like you fail is reason enough. Time to ensure my money goes elsewhere, I wouldn't want the likes of you getting richer when there's so many more deserving recipients.

"Congrats on being the internet's biggest douchebag!"

No, I think your trophy's safe.
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velox (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 7:11am

Re: Overreacting on this news
"All I can see from the article, is a company trying hard to distance itself from negative publicity. Authorizing a copyrighted work (whether that's required or not) isn't just about the copyright itself, it also gives implicit approval of the derivative work."
Absent the declaration by Disney, how many Americans would have jumped to the conclusion that Disney must have approved and collected a licensing fee for the play in a North Korean theater.
My guess -- Zero.
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Nick Dynice (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 7:11am

Authorization? North Korea don't need not stinking authorization! Plus, I doubt that even if they wanted to licence the characters there are no channels for them to do so.
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Digitari, 12 Jul 2012 @ 7:27am

Re: Would have been funnier
Bingo!!
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Almost Anonymous (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 7:51am

Re:
Hah! Awesome tie in.

p.s. Don't give them any ideas!
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Almost Anonymous (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 7:55am

Re: Re: Overreacting on this news
No man, until I read that line I was totally under the impression that Best Korea had licensed all relevant materials and that the show was fully endorsed post-humously by Walt Disney himself.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 7:59am

Re: Re: Overreacting on this news
So Mike's a whiny bitch for whining about a whiny bitch?

So you whining over a bitching whining over a whiny bitch... that makes you three times the whiny bitch!
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Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 8:00am

Re:
Failtroll.

Absolutely unforgivable that you missed linking copyright infringement and communism in a story about both. Also, since North Korea wants nuclear weapons, and we all know that terrorists want nuclear weapons, there was that angle too. And even though both of your "sentences" were fragments, you capitalized one of them, and they were coherent.

Complete failing grade.
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Beta (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 8:17am

Re: Re:
I just hope that if Kim Jong Un orders that the Disney characters be burned in effigy, he mentions that the performers should be taken out first.
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Philip (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 8:40am

Typical statement.
I'm sure this is a response from Disney being ask by a third party if this was authorized or if Disney is connected with the performance (in efforts to get info. about said woman).

I'm a little disappointed. You make it sound like Disney is threatening Kim John Un for the illegal use of Disney characters. Now, if I'm wrong, and this is a real legal threat; then yes, Disney is jumping the "MUCH PROTECT IP" gun before realizing China doesn't care about US IP.
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Philip (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 8:42am

Re: Typical statement.
And crap ... with "China" I meant North Korea. lol
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Baldaur Regis (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 8:52am

They buried the lead.
The REAL story here is that the leader of a nuclear state, a grown man, takes his date to a fucking Disney musical.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 9:09am

Re: Re: Ummm....
More specifically, it isn't like the Grimm Brothers collected folk tales for their anthology A FEW HUNDRED YEARS prior to the first use by Disney.

Even if they were copyrighted by the Grimm Brothers, it would have definitely been public domain.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 9:36am

It's time nuke North Korea!
A country can destroy any business they don't like - the United States proved that!

A country can meddle in the affairs of any country they don't like - the United States proved that!

A country can topple any government they don't like - the United States proved that!

A country can freely murder whomever they bloody well feel like - the United States proved that!

A country can drop nuclear bombs on whomever they feel like and kill thousands and thousands of innocent people - the United States proved that!

A country can declare war on and destroy any country just minding their own business (especially if they threatened the us president's daddy) and get away with it - the United States proved that!

A country can commit any war crimes it wants and get away with it - the United States proved that!

A country can ignore international law when they bloody well feel like it - the United States proved that!

But flaunt american national so-called "laws" designed to make filthy rich people filthy richer and bought and paid for by those that help finance the american presidential campaign in a us election year? Cleanly, North Korea is evil and must be destroyed!!
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 9:43am

Re: They buried the lead.
+1. No inquiries about Best Koreas age of consent, please.
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McFortner (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 10:37am

The Revolution Will Be Televised
Comrade Mouse and Comrade Goofy approve.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 10:41am

Re: It's time nuke North Korea!
If korean boy wanna mess with me Imma nuke his ass and say "ninja prease!"

/some haiti video slideshow thing
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John Fenderson (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 10:43am

Re: Overreacting on this news
Of course Disney wants to dissociate itself from Kim Jong Un, but I think the point is that the way they've chosen to do so is very telling of their mindset.

They didn't say "we disapprove of and do not support his regime," would would have spoken to an ethical objection, they say "we did not authorize the use of our works," which is a legal objection that says nothing about how Disney feels about the regime.

What it literally indicates is that Disney's primary concern is the control over their "intellectual property", not that they don't want to be seen with the like of the Un.
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PaulT (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 10:53am

Re: They buried the lead.
No, not a Disney musical... a cheap knockoff version of a Disney musical that judging by the costumes in the photos is inferior to the real thing. Enjoy your undisturbed sleep tonight!
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Killercool (profile), 12 Jul 2012 @ 1:49pm

Re: Re: Re: Ummm....
That's only because the Brothers Grimm weren't able to present their case to the Powers that Be that they deserved an extension.
Just because Disney has better lawyers, doesn't mean it's Disney's fault that the Brothers Grimm allowed their copyrights to expire at the appointed time.

If they were any kind of businessmen, they would have been able to give their descendents a livelihood for generations.
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Nash, 12 Jul 2012 @ 4:19pm

Re: Overreacting on this news
I also think that if Disney HAD authorised this they would be in violation of US law, since their are economic sanctions against North Korea.

It is also newsworthy as the performance would be against North Korean law as well (and get the average citizen sent to a labour camp for a decade or more).

This has NOTHING to do with copyright.
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Lozine, 12 Jul 2012 @ 4:54pm

Re: Re: They buried the lead.
Spot on. Thanks for giving me the chills.
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 7:51pm

Re: Re: Re:
"GREAT SCOTT"

HEY!! WTF Do you have permission to say that?
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Anonymous Coward, 12 Jul 2012 @ 7:53pm

I doubt Kim Jong Un gives two shits about copyright.
Far as the people of North Korea know Kim Jong Un created Disney.

Don't you know?.. Dear leader is creator of everything rofl.
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gilroy0 (profile), 13 Jul 2012 @ 5:53am

Oh, NOW they've done it
They've honked off Disney? Now regime change is inevitable.
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Lee French, 19 Jan 2013 @ 1:34pm

The American dream upheld by the Disney characters must
be corrupted by the values of Communism. Haha.
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