#DisneyMustPay - Part Deux

A long time ago, in some states not so far, the name Disney was synonymous creativity and fairness.

Not so much anymore.

Back in November, I talked about SFWA publicly shaming  the House of Mouse in order to get them to pay back royalties to esteemed SFF writer Alan Dean Foster. I'm glad to say according to SFWA, Mr. Foster and Disney came to an agreement.

Unfortunately, that "agreement" is lawyer speak for Disney giving Foster some of the money, but not all of it with a high probability of "If you take this to court, we'll bury you" and/or "You'll die before you win in court" thrown in.

(Sometimes, I hate knowing enough to read between the freakin' lines.)

The problem is Mr. Foster wasn't the only creative Disney has been abusing. More writers have been coming out to SFWA and other author organizations. Worse, there could be hundreds, or even thousands, of writers who have been screwed over and don't even know it.

The #Disney Must Pay Taskforce is working to rectify these problems. It isn't just a matter of money. Copyright law hinges on it. Disney claims it can make money on intellectual property without paying the owner. This is an incredibly dangerous precedent if it is either codified or becomes a judicial ruling.

It means no writer is safe if Disney is allowed to continue on this route.

Check out the #Disney Must Pay Taskforce, especially if you could possibly be an affected author.

Disney Refuses to Pay Author!

And this time, it is TOTALLY Disney's fault!

The dicks at Disney are refusing to pay the royalties due to famed SFF writer Alan Dean Foster.

 

You see Foster was hired as a ghost writer by  George Lucas for the original Star Wars novel back in the '70's. Foster then adapted Lucas's unproduced script into the novel Splinter of the Mind's Eye under Foster's own name.

Foster also write many of the movie tie-in novelizations for what was 20th Century Fox, including the Alien franchise. Heck, he's even done move tie-ins for Disney's own movies, like The Black Hole.

Now that Disney bought the rights to Lucasfilm and 20th Century Fox, they think they don't have to honor the old contracts. That's not how the law works, but the execs at Disney are banking on their own legal team to outspend and outlast the pesky little writers like Foster.

And they're still making money of Foster's work.

Disney sucks! And this in one of the many reasons I would think twice before licensing some of my properties, much less submit anything to a large corporations.

Look, I understand wanting success, recognition, and acceptance. But bending over and letting big companies have their way with you does not guarantee those things.

And even if you do everything right, like Foster did, it doesn't mean someone down the road isn't going to screw you over.

The only thing we can do is publicly shame the executives at Disney, like fans did with another company Disney bought--Marvel. Here, there's no question about ownership of characters. Foster did the work according to contract.  Disney cannot have all the rights of the companies they bought without accepting the liabilities.

I know, I know. Sometimes, there are exceptions. However, there's a reason Disney discontinued the publication of books, comics, games, etc. that made up the Star Wars Extended Universe. They wanted to go in a different direction, and they didn't want to pay the creators.

But Disney still publishes Splinter of the Mind's Eye, along with all the other movie tie-ins. In fact, they issued a new version in both mass market paperback and ebook. So if they're still using Foster's material, then they should be honoring his contract.

In addition to protesting, you can donate to the Science Fiction Writers of America's legal fund to support Mr. Foster and any other writers being screwed over by Disney

Bad Contracts

Yesterday, the writer liaison at our local public sent out a call for submissions from a brand new publisher. So what do I do as a recovering attorney? That's right. I check out their contract.

Holy shit, is it bad! Total rights grab for a whopping $10.

*facepalm*

So, for the last twenty-four hours I've been debating what to do. I ran the situation by a fellow writer/recovering attorney. They had the same reaction I did.

Do I tell the publisher to contact a lawyer before they get themselves into deep shit? Do I contact the library liaison and warn her? Do I send it to Writer Beware? Hell, my friend Angie who does a monthly post on her blog of anthologies taking submissions wouldn't touch this one with a 100-ft pole.

Or do I do nothing? I've learned through a lot of bitter experience most writers are attempting to live a dream that doesn't exist. I've lost a lot of friends by opening my big mouth.

*sigh* What a way to end the week.

Scam Distributor Autharium Versus The Passive Guy--Somebody's Going to Get Spanked...

...and it ain't going to be The Passive Guy.

About a year ago, The Passive Guy, aka PG, aka contract attorney David Vandagriff with 30+ years experience, talked about a new UK e-publisher/distributor called Autharium.

In Autharium's original Terms and Conditions, the company made an incredibly blatant rights grab that put the NY BPHs to shame. Basically, even if you remove your book from their database, they would still own all licencing and ancillary rights to your IP property.

Well instead of addressing the matter directly with PG, these slimy bottom-feeders filed a bad faith DMCA notice claiming copyright violation in an effort to shut up PG's revelation. Ironic considering their own method for stealing any meaningful copyright from authors, huh?

As PG noted, if you're going to pick a fight, you should know who your up against. Which is frankly what makes the folks running Autharium a bunch of dumbasses.

So PG has done another post on Autharium and their newer, sneakier wording to steal YOUR copyright. In the meantime, PG noted that the incredible Victoria Strauss at Writers Beware brought up the very same issues.

The best we can do as writers is to watch each others backs from slimeball organization like Autharium. If you're a writer, spread this story as far and wide as possible. Information is power, and we need to arm our fellows.

Update the Autharian Drama here.