User:SOTO/Forum Archive/Inclusion debates/@comment-4028641-20170222073756/@comment-5918438-20170226200805

From Tardis Wiki, the free Doctor Who reference

Of course, the movie was produced largely by Warner Animation Group, not The LEGO Group. LEGO has shown that they're aware of copyright issues. Regardless, since the Dalek image is apparently joint owned by Nation('s estate) and the BBC, does the BBC have the right to allow its use here?

"The U.S. Copyright Office considers joint copyright owners to have an equal right to register and enforce the copyright. Unless the joint owners make a written agreement to the contrary, each copyright owner has the right to commercially exploit the copyright, provided that the other copyright owners get an equal share of the proceeds."

"The Copyright Act of 1976 grants a number of exclusive rights to copyright owners, including:

  • reproduction right — the right to make copies of a protected work
  • distribution right — the right to sell or otherwise distribute copies to the public
  • right to create adaptations (called derivative works) — the right to prepare new works based on the protected work, and
  • performance and display rights — the rights to perform a protected work (such as a stageplay) or to display a work in public. This bundle of rights allows a copyright owner to be flexible when deciding how to realize commercial gain from the underlying work; the owner may sell or license any of the rights."

(Source)

So while the Terry Nation Estate could certainly refuse to allow the use of Daleks in any production, it seems (to me) that the BBC are also entirely within their rights to allow for use of the Dalek image, as long as any profit therein is shared equally between the parties. I'm certainly not a lawyer, so not at all an authority or expert on US copyright law, (and UK copyright law plays into this as well,) so I may be wrong, and the Nation Estate maybe does have to give permission for every use of the Daleks. But it seems to me possible that it's legally sound for the BBC to allow this, without the Terry Nation Estate being specifically consulted.

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