Disney does not own fairytales right?

I was dicusssing a fairytale EP thread on the officials and someone was clamming that Disney owned the fairytales.

What? lol

They don't own fairy-tales.

"The Walt Disney Company and its subsidiaries own the intellectual property rights to the characters, brands, titles and properties popularly associated with the Disney name and with Disney's affiliates. This includes a large number of titles, characters and other elements from Disney's television programs, feature-length motion pictures, animated productions, publications, games and music."

Meaning, as an example, they can sue someone if they use an exact replica of their "Cinderella" without their permission.

Now, they don't own the name "Cinderella", but the design of the "Cinderella" title through Disney is protected.

Many popular Fairy Tales are public domain. Just because Disney made "Cinderella" doesn't mean that no one else can make a "Cinderella". In fact, in 1998, Fox made a Cinderella movie with Drew Barrymore called "Ever After".

Since its not like they are suing Shrek spoof movies for having "Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, Pinccoo-sp?, Three Little Pigs characters) or the "Sisters Grimm" series..either.

I mean as long as the people don't use the exactly the "Disney" look for characters, they are in public domain.

Mickey Mouse, IS something that is owned by Disney, Since Disney is what created him.

Right. If someone were to take an exact "look" of one of their Disney characters, or even use their same story line, then you would be using their intellectual property which is protected by the copyright law.

Snow White in Shrek looks a lot like Disney's Snow White, but her clothes are different...so they wouldn't have a case if they tried to sue Dreamworks.

But the only way that Disney could sue another company for "Cinderella" story is if there were 1) talking mice, and 2) a "ripped dress", everything else belonged to Perrault (and now the public)-glass slipper, pumpkin coach, fairy godmother and I think midnight curfew.

Snow White would have to look a bit alike nobody *who* made her. since she needs to have "skin as white as snow, hair as black as (either a raven's wing or ebony), lips as red as the rose" but Disney does have the right to the names of the dwarfs, since they did name them, since in the original story they're nameless. But the apple, wicked stepmother, (well don't belong to anyone really--in public domain..since the Grimm brothers weren't authors, just collectors).

Kind of stepped on my point there.

To bad I'm not going to be a poltican, or a business woman... (or a laywer either) I would be perfectly in arguing?

It's all good.

I'm read alot. (hug)