Doctor Who Faces Legal Threat From Son of Tardis Creator

CriticalMiss

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Jan 18, 2013
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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?
 

ClockworkUniverse

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Nov 15, 2012
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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.
 

Olas

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Dec 24, 2011
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It definitely seems sketchy considering the TARDIS is basically just a police-box anyway. So his father patented the idea of using a Policebox? It might be a little different if it was the guy who designed the Enterprise or something creative like that.
 

Yopaz

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Jun 3, 2009
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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.
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.

Bethesda having to sue Mojang over Scrolls and the final 3 books in The Wheel of Time series not being translated since the author died are examples of broken copyright laws. This is an example of someone who wants money (or recognition) while not being involved in the process in any way.
 

Ed130 The Vanguard

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Sep 10, 2008
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Lets see, considering:

1) The original creator and his widow didn't contest the BBC's usage for decades pretty much kills his claim right off the bat.

2) Police Boxes were real things with the BBC successfully defending its use of the iconic design against the Metropolitan Police back in 2002.

3) This isn't the sue-happy US.

This case is going to nowhere.
 

FoxKitsune

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Jun 23, 2012
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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!
 

Shaidz

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Jul 8, 2012
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""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. "The only ends I wish to accomplish, by whatever lawful means present themselves, involve bringing about the public recognition that should by rights always have been his due, of my father James Anthony Coburn's seminal contribution to Doctor Who, and proper lawful recompense to his surviving estate.""

MY ASS! He saw an opportunity to make some $$ and went for it, this is not about recognition, its about how much money he can screw out of the BBC. If the widow didn't see the need to do this, why should he. It was his FATHERS thing, why should he get the money, he has no more right to it than I do to Daleks(even though my late father built them for the original series).
 

Albino Boo

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JoJo said:
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,"
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?


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.
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.
 

FalloutJack

Bah weep grah nah neep ninny bom
Nov 20, 2008
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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
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.

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!
[HEADING=1]YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!![/HEADING]
 

ForumSafari

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Sep 25, 2012
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But he doesn't own it, it was made for a TV show so the TV show owns the rights to it. That's how it works in other media when you either sell the rights to something to a project or make something under contract for the project. He was being paid by the BBC to make Doctor Who so they should be automatic rights holders.
 

Sir Shockwave

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dylanmc12 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.
Depends if you saw anything before Moffat took over as editor X3

OT: I'm under the opinion that he's suing over the use of the name, not over using a Blue Police Box. That said, I can't see many courts holding up this case if it goes that far.
 

Buizel91

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Aug 25, 2008
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Headsprouter said:
Roander said:
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.
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.
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.


Yeah. That's all I can see, here.
Should of posted the song as well!


OT Yeh this guy has lost already, no way is he going to see a penny.
 

Lovely Mixture

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Jul 12, 2011
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Normal people: I would like my father to be acknowledged for his contribution, could you add his name to the credits?

This guy: I would like to paid for my father's contribution of which I had nothing to do.
 

MeChaNiZ3D

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Aug 30, 2011
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To be fair, I'd be pretty annoyed if a relative of mine had conceived of a central element in an extremely popular show and wasn't credited for it. But I don't think that's where he's coming from.
 

frobalt

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The Lunatic said:
JoJo said:
Couldn't resist slipping in that little jibe eh?
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?

I think the best way to realise how Doctor Who is a family show and not a kids show is to watch The Sarah Jane Adventures and compare the 2.

They're both set in the same universe and have similar formats. The Doctor even shows up on 2 occasions.
 

Albino Boo

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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.
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.
 

likalaruku

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Nov 29, 2008
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This reminds me of a podcast where two guys were talking about how f**ked-up it is that you have to pay the decedents of Martin Luther King to use his full speech in anything because it should be public domain, charging for a speech about freedom is ironic, 7 none of them were actually involved in the speech.
 

Genocidicles

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Sep 13, 2012
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I detest Dr Who and I can still see this guy is a fucking ****.

This is all the proof we need that copyright law is a bunch of shit and needs to be done away with. If you didn't create the thing in question, then why the fuck should you be able to profit from it?