If there was a dick of the year award, he would be going for it. I don't like Doctor Who at all, but I understand the dickness of someone coming in and literally trying to ruin everyone else's fun. I hope he fails in this endeavor, and fails hard.
Doctor Who Faces Legal Threat From Son of Tardis Creator
- Thread starter Andy Chalk
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Yeah, pretty sure this guy is going to lose this suit hard. I'm pretty sure when you write something into a tv show, you're giving the show permission to use it.
Apparently a lot of people couldn't figure out who I was talking about.
Anyway.
I'm pretty sure, if the guy who made the Tardis could see how much money it's making now, he would want a slice of that.
So what if it goes to his kid? Are you telling me a father wouldn't want financial security for his child?
Anyway.
I'm pretty sure, if the guy who made the Tardis could see how much money it's making now, he would want a slice of that.
So what if it goes to his kid? Are you telling me a father wouldn't want financial security for his child?
Preferably a lot sooner than that.Flunk said:
Copyright is inherently a limit on the freedom of expression.
It's a useful one, that modern society needs to function, just as our property rights are limited by taxes, but just like taxes, it should be applied as little as it is absolutely necessary, instead of just coddling artists all the way, the priority should be on a practical, balanced economical benefit.
When movies are bringing in most of their rvenues in the first weeks, and the rest of in the first year, it's ridculous to let publishers hold IP for several decades, especially given that the kind of IPs that still stay relevant after decades are the biggest ones that already made their creators rich long ago anyways, and that have the most urgent need to be liberalized for public usage.
I'm extremely biased towards Dr. Who, so I hope he loses this legal battle.
But even if he -did- deserve the money for some reason...
Isn't it funny how he only wants to claim his rights to it once Dr. Who is really, really close to being done and over with? When all the money it's worth is starting to finalize?
But even if he -did- deserve the money for some reason...
Isn't it funny how he only wants to claim his rights to it once Dr. Who is really, really close to being done and over with? When all the money it's worth is starting to finalize?
Everyone else seems to think he wants money, what I read is that he wants to hurt bbc for writing his father out of Dr. who history.
So ... let me see if I got this straight. Mr. Colburn is hired by the BBC to help create a new TV show that will eventually become the BBC. He is one of several men who come up with the now iconic elements of the show, claiming sole creation of the Tardis. He helps write TWO scripts for the show, one of which is never filmed and eventually rejected and upon its rejection he quits.
I don't know how television contracts worked in the 70s, but I know in EVERY other field of employment part of your contract reads "Any idea, method or practice you develop while working for us becomes ours IF it was developed on company time and you have no rights to it after leaving."
You know ... I just had a great idea! The writers of Dr. Who should create an episode where the SON of the creator of the Tardis tries to steal the Tardis from the Doctor to use it for his own desires and the Doctor destroys it so neither of them can have it. Then, when the companion of the day asks how they are going to get back to her time, the Doctor snaps his fingers and a new Tardis, maybe shaped like one of those red telephone boxes you see all over London, appears and he says "Oh, we'll just use the spare. Not as pretty as the original, but damn good gas mileage."
I don't know how television contracts worked in the 70s, but I know in EVERY other field of employment part of your contract reads "Any idea, method or practice you develop while working for us becomes ours IF it was developed on company time and you have no rights to it after leaving."
You know ... I just had a great idea! The writers of Dr. Who should create an episode where the SON of the creator of the Tardis tries to steal the Tardis from the Doctor to use it for his own desires and the Doctor destroys it so neither of them can have it. Then, when the companion of the day asks how they are going to get back to her time, the Doctor snaps his fingers and a new Tardis, maybe shaped like one of those red telephone boxes you see all over London, appears and he says "Oh, we'll just use the spare. Not as pretty as the original, but damn good gas mileage."
The night was dark and clear. Above, the new moon left the sky almost black, and the radiant stars shown down on the forest below. The nighttime air makes every noise seem so much worse, ever crack of a twig or shifting of leaves some new creature on the prowl. Deep in the woods, a group of Whovians are on a camping trip. Their large tent is TARDIS blue, and for some strange reason they're all dressed similarly to Companions. They sit around the fire, toasting fish fingers to dip into their custard, and they're engaging in the tradition of campers everywhere: ghost stories. Being Whovians, they do it a bit differently: taking turns, they try to remind their companions of the scariest Doctor Who monsters who could be out in the woods tonight. Weeping Angels, Macra, Silurians, the Vashta Narada? all are gone through. Until finally, the last one looks at them over the light of the dwindling fire, and grins.Psychobabble said:
"It's the human Dr. Who, chasing around rainbow-colored Daleks?"
And suddenly, out in the darkness, they hear a sound that could almost be Peter Cushing shouting?
Sir, I'd offer you a jellybaby, but I have not perfected the E-Fist program just yet. That was hilarious.[/quote]FalloutJack said:
Well, what if I reversed the polarity of the neutron flow, and then used my Timey-Wimey Detector to locate the best moment to perfect the E-Fist program?
That is quite an impressive achievement, sir. You're either the oldest man alive, or you have a time machine. Possibly both, if you're Rory Williams.Rawbeard said:
I have a lot of problems with copyright scummers, but not this one. If it holds weight, give his family their due. You can afford the time a money. If it falls flat, deny it. Either way in this particular case, I have no bias
Not a fan of Doctor Who myself, but at the same time this fucker is going about setting a horrible precedent... and I don't think he'll get dick. Isn't he essentially after retroactive compensation for something that was agreed upon being fine to use at the time?
Now correct me if I'm wrong but you can't "change" a contract that existed just because the person who was in charge of that contract that you just inherited passed away. I don't get a refund on all my grandfather's purchases because I didn't approve of him spending that money.
Now correct me if I'm wrong but you can't "change" a contract that existed just because the person who was in charge of that contract that you just inherited passed away. I don't get a refund on all my grandfather's purchases because I didn't approve of him spending that money.
Except he isn't suing them to make them give proper credit. He is using that as a poor smokescreen for greed. I would fully support a lawsuit to make the BBC actively acknowledge the TARDIS's creator, being the pro-littleguy type person I am.Drizzitdude said:
However, he is a selfish prick. His father liked/loved the show, designed the TARDIS for it and now his kid wants to piss on his fathers legacy for a quick buck. I can't think of a worse insult to a parents legacy outside of the Dune series.
Let's consider a business: specifically, a lemonade stand.dantoddd said:
A dozen neighborhood kids put together a lemonade stand. Unlike most lemonade stands, this one endures; it stays open for several years. As time passes, some of the kids move away, some quit, and others join in. At all times, profits are shared in a manner the kids agree is equitable. After the lemonade stand has been in continuous operation for 20 years, one of the original kids(now 30 years old) goes through the formal process of turning the lemonade stand into a legally-recognized business, which then franchises and goes international. This new business goes on through another 30 years of operation, including a massive world-wide popularity spike about 25 years in.
At this point, a young man comes forth. His father was one of the original kids who built the lemonade stand, but had to move away after its first year. This young man sues for 1/12 of the money the lemonade stand has brought in over the past 50 years, because his father was 1/12 owner of the original lemonade stand. When asked why he's only bringing this up now, he explains that his father, who would have been responsible for making this claim while alive, passed away 10 years ago, and that his mother, who would have inherited that responsibility, passed away just recently, leaving the responsibility to him.
How would you feel about that claim, now that it's about a business?
Well, the man apparently couldn't care less for 14 years, and his wife didn't make any fuss about it for another 30-something years.The Lunatic said:
Even so, as people have said, I find it highly probably that he didn't actually own the intellectual property of the TARDIS in the first place. I mean, how often do you hear of scriptwriters getting royalties? The dude was in all likelihood paid for making the story arc and that would be the end of it.
Lastly, and this is just a personal thing, I would be fucking ASHAMED if my child tried to cash in on my success without doing a lick of work himself, especially if he happened to be holding my creative work hostage to do it!
Thankfully, this guy seems to be holding the TARDIS hostage with a banana instead of a gun, without realizing it... so there's that.
If you read the whole thing, he probably wasn't particularly worried about it until the BBC seriously snubbed his father, and by proxy his family, by not even giving him lip service for inventing the most iconic (and consistent) part of the Doctor Who lore.Limos said:
My guess is it's less about the money and more about pride.
Can I ask you a question? Did YOU know, as an obvious Doctor Who fanboy, who created the TARDIS? I certainly didn't. Now I do.LazyAza said:
I think that's the whole point of this. It says right in the article (which I assume half the people spewing pure hatred towards this guy didn't read top-to-bottom) that he's miffed mostly because his father didn't even get a by-your-leave in the 50th anniversary celebrations, despite creating THE most important aspect of the universe. This is about getting everyone to recognise what the BBC won't. The money, if any, would be a happy side-effect.
Well, you're not him.Innegativeion said:
Also, if you read the news article, it tells you exactly what happened to the copyright.
Merchandising for the TARDIS wasn't as massive as it is now, however many years ago.
It's a completely different situation.
When the TARDIS was first made, it wasn't being sold across the globe making potentially hundreds of thousands of pounds.
But, yeah, I'm sure the guy's dad didn't want any of that for his son.
While your ideals are very "heartwarming", it's completely unrealistic and nobody would actually think like that.
Wow, what a whiny little ***** this kid is.
Unless the original creator had it written in his contract that he retains all copyright over his work, he has no leg to stand on.
Unless the original creator had it written in his contract that he retains all copyright over his work, he has no leg to stand on.