party entertainment companies - copyright violations?

[bmn]

As far as I know, parodies are protected under the "fair use" doctrine.

However, if you're using another company's designs to make profit (like the websites I posted) without permission, then that would be illegal.

[Princess Susi]

Playing Devils advocate here...

Other than using the Disney licensed costumes... Does Disney hold all rights to the classic fairytale princess?

Cinderella, Snow white, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid all predate the Disney Company by a few centuries..

Which calls into question.. if you purchase a Disney Licensed costume, are you not allowed to wear it? I am sure as long as they don't claim to BE Disney Princesses..... they have some form of defense..

I'm pretty sure someone mentioned on another thread that the fairy tale princesses are public domain, but Disney's representation of them is not. If these entertainment companies use something unique to Disney's adaptation of the stories (the name "Ariel" for example), that is a violation of Disney's copyright.

Remember too, if the character looks a certain way in the fairytale that IS public domain, then the party companies can use that image whether Disney has used it or not. They are basing the characters on the description within the fairytale. For example if Aurora is described as wearing a pink dress and crown in the fairytale, then the Party company can in fact dress their Sleeping Beauty in a pink dress just as Disney does. If in the original fairytale, Cinderella's ball gown is described as light blue they can use it. Remember, Disney does NOT own everything about the fairytales, just THEIR version of it.

I am not saying that these companies are NOT ripping off Disney, if the characters have no real concrete description within the confines of the fairytale, and the Party company uses the image that Dianey has selected, then there IS a big problem!

susi

[Princess Susi]

Not only is it a big legal thing, but I'm also thinking what about the children who have one of these character imitators come to their party, and the imitator messes up grand royally, I mean beyond trying to be Cinderella without the trainng from Disney? I can't help that many of these imitators are the ones who went to Disney and didn't have the right look, but they wanted to be that character anyway.

Were Disney's quality not so high, this would be an insult to Disney and our Princesses. Just because of the lack of quality and the danger to little kids' dreams, I want to see these companies knocked out of business.

The more I look at these, the more disgusting they are.

Wallaby, Disney must very careful about suing for infringement. Because the fairytales are in the public domain, anyone can dress up as Aurora or Cinderella if it is not the Disney costume version and play a Princess. Disney does NOT *own* the Princesses.

They have merely capitalized on them by making THEIR versions of the fairytale characters. The ones who dress up as them outside of Disney do NOT have to adhere to any of Disney's strict training and that is as it should be. Why should they? They are not owned by Disney either!

Would you deny a Party Planner Company who did NOT use costumes that were so close to Disney's, BUT stuck to the fairytale's story and played it out at a party for children? They would NOT be infringing on any copyright laws if they did not use the Disney costumes. The fact is anyone can play these princesses and just because Disney does it a certain way, does NOT mean that is the way the original author of these tales wanted it.

We used to put on little theatre shows in my neighborhood when I was a kid and we did some of the fairytales and even Shakespeare, (Romeo and Juliet) at times. We would collect old clothes, prom dresses, etc... from neighbors and buy some from Goodwill and make our costumes and put on the shows. I would hope that Disney would not come after me because I performed the Cinderella story and used a light blue dress, maybe.

It is a fine line, but if a Party Planner does use the licensed costumes that Disney created for THEIR version of the fairytales, they have a case, unless they have legal access to the costumes by Disney!

I would hate to see the fairytales become ONLY the Disney version. I grew up reading the originals and then saw the Disney movies and love them, but I think kids should grow up with the originals before they see Disney's version.

If they see the Disney version first that will be the image that is permeated in their minds and it will more difficult for their imagination to create their own version of how they see the Princess's once they have Disney's image so burned in their subconcious with all the merchandise that is out there.

It is just how I feel about children reading the classics BEFORE they get the versions that are shoved down their throats everyday by commercialism.

And you know I LOVE Disney, so it has nothing to do with Disney being the monster under the bed. For me, it just has to do with allowing young minds to create their own vision and version.

Susi

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Now that brings up an interesting point...

if you buy a Disney costume, where does it say you can use it for any purpose you want?

http://disneyshopping.go.com/webapp/wcs ... _productID

because the costumes listed above are obviously licensed by Disney.

[Princess Susi]

Interesting that we see so many *Disney* Princesses at Halloween...The costumes are obviously made by Disney and allowed for that use...and to pay huge bucks for at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique , so the little ones can straggle around in the heat with their Princess makeup, hair and dresses AT the Parks.

The cheap looking costumes that resemble the Disney version on those Party sites listed by the OP are definitely being used outside of Disney's boundaries. They can be stopped for the use of the costumes that so resemble Disney's. If however they made up their own costumes for Princesses that in no way looked like Disney's there would be no case. These people are obviously trying to make a buck on the back of Disney using very recognizable costumes.

And where else CAN a little girl wear the Disney Princess costume when they buy it at the Parks? Disney definitely wants you to buy the costume from them for big $$$, but NOT use it for any other purpose than dress-up, I guess.

Susi

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

Interesting that we see so many *Disney* Princesses at Halloween...The costumes are obviously made by Disney and allowed for that use...and to pay huge bucks for at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique , so the little ones can straggle around in the heat with their Princess makeup, hair and dresses AT the Parks.

The cheap looking costumes that resemble the Disney version on those Party sites listed by the OP are definitely being used outside of Disney's boundaries. They can be stopped for the use of the costumes that so resemble Disney's. If however they made up their own costumes for Princesses that in no way looked like Disney's there would be no case. These people are obviously trying to make a buck on the back of Disney using very recognizable costumes.

And where else CAN a little girl wear the Disney Princess costume when they buy it at the Parks? Disney definitely wants you to buy the costume from them for big $$$, but NOT use it for any other purpose than dress-up, I guess.

Susi

True..but the link I posted is ADULT princess (among others) costumes.

And that is my question. If you buy a costume (licensed) who is to say that you cannot wear it anywhere you want..except at WDW and DLR!

[lady ulrike]

True..but the link I posted is ADULT princess (among others) costumes.

And that is my question. If you buy a costume (licensed) who is to say that you cannot wear it anywhere you want..except at WDW and DLR!

I don't think the problem lies with wearing the costume that you bought, but making money by wearing said costume.

[drcorey]

Wallaby, Disney must very careful about suing for infringement. Because the fairytales are in the public domain, anyone can dress up as Aurora or Cinderella if it is not the Disney costume version and play a Princess. Disney does NOT *own* the Princesses.

They have merely capitalized on them by making THEIR versions of the fairytale characters. The ones who dress up as them outside of Disney do NOT have to adhere to any of Disney's strict training and that is as it should be. Why should they? They are not owned by Disney either!

Would you deny a Party Planner Company who did NOT use costumes that were so close to Disney's, BUT stuck to the fairytale's story and played it out at a party for children? They would NOT be infringing on any copyright laws if they did not use the Disney costumes. The fact is anyone can play these princesses and just because Disney does it a certain way, does NOT mean that is the way the original author of these tales wanted it.

We used to put on little theatre shows in my neighborhood when I was a kid and we did some of the fairytales and even Shakespeare, (Romeo and Juliet) at times. We would collect old clothes, prom dresses, etc... from neighbors and buy some from Goodwill and make our costumes and put on the shows. I would hope that Disney would not come after me because I performed the Cinderella story and used a light blue dress, maybe.

It is a fine line, but if a Party Planner does use the licensed costumes that Disney created for THEIR version of the fairytales, they have a case, unless they have legal access to the costumes by Disney!

I would hate to see the fairytales become ONLY the Disney version. I grew up reading the originals and then saw the Disney movies and love them, but I think kids should grow up with the originals before they see Disney's version.

If they see the Disney version first that will be the image that is permeated in their minds and it will more difficult for their imagination to create their own version of how they see the Princess's once they have Disney's image so burned in their subconcious with all the merchandise that is out there.

It is just how I feel about children reading the classics BEFORE they get the versions that are shoved down their throats everyday by commercialism.

And you know I LOVE Disney, so it has nothing to do with Disney being the monster under the bed. For me, it just has to do with allowing young minds to create their own vision and version.

Susi

and Disney made some many of them popular the last 50 years.
if it wasn't for Disney, 99% of them wouldn't even be known today.
execpt maybe Peter and Wendy because of them being popular in england.

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I don't think the problem lies with wearing the costume that you bought, but making money by wearing said costume.

True, except that when you buy something that is licensed, is there any part of that law that states you cannot use it that way?

As an example, someone wearing Mickey Mouse ears in movie? OR making a movie quote? (if so, there is a father/son that survived a struggle at sea that used a line from a movie to keep going, is Disney going to sue them?) (I know they are not!)

or in this case, if the "princesses" bought the costume from the Disney Store, where is it stated (or implied) that they cannot wear it whenever they want? for whatever purposes they want? When you buy something it becomes your property, and you have a right to use it as you see fit, don't you?

IT is an interesting situation.

[Big Wallaby]

When you buy something it becomes your property, and you have a right to use it as you see fit, don't you?

IT is an interesting situation.

I say it comes down to the same thing as a software license. With that license, you are allowed to use the software, and that copy is yours, but the software itself is not. You cannot modify the software and then sell it as your own, unless you completely reverse engineer it and rebuild it from the ground up with key differences the entire way (see the differences between Microserf Office and the Sun equivilent) to where that software you bought was merely inspiration for your similar software.

My biggest problem is the idea that these untrained people are going out as these characters, and what happens if they completely botch the character for these kids, or worse cause some sort of a bad memory that makes the children they are making their money off of (okay, the childrens' parents, same difference) are forever scared of Disney characters?

I would not mind these companies creating their own characters... In fact, by doing so they would have a character they completely control, they could have the story time where the character tells her story, it could be very memorable if done correctly.

There's also the matter of whom Disney chooses to assist the face characters. I'm sorry, but a dark-skinned Belle just doesn't fit, much like a pasty white Jasmine would be bad... and I saw both on those sites.

For me, it is completely a question of quality control. I don't know what these people are saying or doing when they are trying to be the characters, and for that reason I am against them having the ability to go out as Disney characters.