King Kong Origin Series (Disney+)

[Nick]

In weird, out of nowhere news...

Is King Kong recently into the public domain? There's a ton of shows in development for Kong right now. This one, an animated show at Netflix, and a live action show at Apple TV+.

 

[Jerroddragon]

Wait.....I thought Kong was WB?

 

[Nick]

Wait.....I thought Kong was WB?

The WB Kong is their Kong and cannot be replicated. If it's now public domain though, that means anyone can make their own version of Kong, much like how there's a Winnie The Pooh horror movie coming out next year. Within the next 20-30 years, a lot of iconic IP will become free for anyone to use.

 

[belloq87]

I don't know the full history of the KONG rights, but this may stem from the fact that the original 1933 KING KONG (an RKO production, now owned by WB) and its novelization by Delos W. Lovelace were considered to be two separate creative efforts at that time with their own rights. This is why there were competing KONG projects in the 1970s from two different studios, Paramount and Universal (only Paramount's got made).

So I would guess that whatever rights are allowing Disney to pursue this are coming from that book.

It's crazy -- but nice -- to see Kong being a hot character again!

 

[Nick]

I don't know the full history of the KONG rights, but this may stem from the fact that the original 1933 KING KONG (an RKO production, now owned by WB) and its novelization by Delos W. Lovelace were considered to be two separate creative efforts at that time with their own rights. This is why there were competing KONG projects in the 1970s from two different studios, Paramount and Universal (only Paramount's got made).

So I would guess that whatever rights are allowing Disney to pursue this are coming from that book.

It's crazy -- but nice -- to see Kong being a hot character again!

The 1933 King Kong is now Public Domain from what I just looked up (just like the 1928 Mickey Mouse will be in 2 years if Disney can't manage to get that stalled again).

 

[belloq87]

The 1933 King Kong is now Public Domain from what I just looked up (just like the 1928 Mickey Mouse will be in 2 years if Disney can't manage to get that stalled again).

Looks like it's even more complex than that:

King Kong's Complicated Rights Issues Explained

, it’s pretty easy to take for granted how simple most character and IP rights are from the outside perspective. Take for example DC Comics, Warner Bros. Discovery owns all of those characters and uses them in comics, movies, shows, and countless other places. Universal Pictures has owned the...

comicbook.com

Basically the novelization -- and therefore, in effect, the character of King Kong -- is in public domain, and can be used as the basis for any KONG project as long as elements from that book are included and permission is granted by the Merian C. Cooper estate. And individual studios can then own trademarks that make their versions/interpretations of the character unique and distinct.

The 1933 film is still fully controlled by WB until (at least) 2029. Then it seems like it might enter public domain, meaning that visual iconography and elements specific to that movie would then be fair game for anybody to use.

 

[Nick]

Additional details on the Disney+ series:

 

[jseal777]

feels gross

 

[MrBlonde]

Looks like it's even more complex than that:

King Kong's Complicated Rights Issues Explained

, it’s pretty easy to take for granted how simple most character and IP rights are from the outside perspective. Take for example DC Comics, Warner Bros. Discovery owns all of those characters and uses them in comics, movies, shows, and countless other places. Universal Pictures has owned the...

comicbook.com

Basically the novelization -- and therefore, in effect, the character of King Kong -- is in public domain, and can be used as the basis for any KONG project as long as elements from that book are included and permission is granted by the Merian C. Cooper estate. And individual studios can then own trademarks that make their versions/interpretations of the character unique and distinct.

The 1933 film is still fully controlled by WB until (at least) 2029. Then it seems like it might enter public domain, meaning that visual iconography and elements specific to that movie would then be fair game for anybody to use.

This sounds like a lot of.... monkey business.
:rimshot:

 

[Jerroddragon]

So if this is successful we could have King Kong attactions at Universal and Disney? insane time to be alive