He sounds like a bad Doctor Who villain who is trying to steal the TARDIS and sell it. Although if the writers decided to make fun of him he'd probably try and sue them for it. Is he American by any chance?
Yeah, this is what struck me too while reading the comments here. This isn't an example of broken copyright laws since he doesn't have any kind of legal basis. I can't be sure if he's really concerned about his father's legacy or if he just wants money, regardless of that I don't think he'll have a chance of winning.ClockworkUniverse said:Okay, for all the people talking about how this is an example of why copyright laws are screwed-up: well, yes, copyright law needs some improvement, but this case pretty much has no legal basis. The headline might as well be "Crazy Guy Wants Money."
It would take an oversight of epic proportions for a major TV network to buy a script from someone without a contract signing over the rights, since, you know, otherwise they wouldn't legally be able to film or air even the episode he wrote.
ooh, ICWUDT. Noice.Neta said:So this guy's basically a patent troll?
Because he's patently trolling.
JoJo said:Couldn't resist slipping in that little jibe eh? I'm with Fix-the-spade on this, while I'm no expert I'd be very surprised if Tony Colburn (the father) didn't sign away his rights to the work as part of his contract with the BBC, I mean that's how it normally works right?Colburn said:"It is by no means my wish to deprive legions of Doctor Who fans (of whom I was never one) of any aspect of their favorite children's program,"
Its not that clear cut. Terry Nation, the creator of the daleks, owned the name Dalek but not what they looked like. Another writer owns the Sontaran name but not the image. So, it is possible that Coburn may own the name Tardis but not what it looks like. I think they big problem is that BBC registered the trademark in the 80s and the then supposed rights holder did not contest it. That fact that Stef Coburn wasn't the putative owner then is irrelevant.Psychobabble said:Not to take the piss, well actually yeah I am, but since the Tardis looks exactly like a blue Police box, shouldn't whomever designed the actual real life blue Police boxes be suing the BBC and this twonks father's estate for ripping off HIS ideas? After all Tony Coburn didn't invent the police box, he just stole the visual design and made it into this "magical" time traveling whatsit.
I preferred BananaMan. But anyway, no dissing the scarf. Or the bowtie. Or the fez, although you may shoot the fez. Point is, your mileage will decidedly vary but you don't get to get irritable about it.Mick Beard said:nar I aint that dude
just an aussie that thinks that a pommy show about a dude with a broken lightsabre who live in an old phone box is lame.
he is like a poor mans danger mouse
[HEADING=1]YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/HEADING]FoxKitsune said:So no move was made on the family's part to preserve the copyright...
The BBC sorted out their own over thirty years ago...
I guess you could say the guy wasn't *puts on sunglasses* in TIME!
Depends if you saw anything before Moffat took over as editor X3dylanmc12 said:I doubt he's ever watched it. And DW is probably not for kids: Mutilation, disturbing imagery, constant death and violence, technobabble that would rot the average Chippy-child's brains, ect.
Should of posted the song as well!Headsprouter said:It's not considered a children's program, it's considered a family show. And yeah, I don't think this guy really cares about his father's honour.Roander said:Is this actually considered a children's show in Britain? Most people I know who watch it are well into their 20s or 30s. This guy is doing a lousy job of pretending he's not a complete tool.Andy Chalk said:"It is by no means my wish to deprive legions of Doctor Who fans (of whom I was never one) of any aspect of their favorite children's program," Coburn said.
Yeah. That's all I can see, here.
The Lunatic said:Is it a jibe? I thought Doctor Who was aimed largely at kids. Is this like when wrestling fans get offended their show is called fake?JoJo said:Couldn't resist slipping in that little jibe eh?
Dr Who started when there was only 2 TV channels to watch in the UK. The show has gone out, for the most part, between 5-8 pm on a Saturday. All this means the a show, even today, in primetime has to pick an audience between 7-70 years old. The smaller British population does not allow for niche programs to go out in prime time and get a cost per viewer that is sustainable. Hence the revail setups with a Doctor for the mums to look at and the assistant being for the dads.Roander said:Is this actually considered a children's show in Britain? Most people I know who watch it are well into their 20s or 30s. This guy is doing a lousy job of pretending he's not a complete tool.