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Celador to Sue Disney over Illegal Use of Millionaire Music
- Thread starter RogueHabit
- Start date
DMC-12
It's HarmonioUS, NOT HarmoniYOU.
No... I disagree.. This sounds rather legitimate... Look... the licensing for the music to use "IN THE ACTUAL TV SHOW" itself is what was agreed upon... NOT the taking of there music and using it wherever the heck they want without paying for it. Royalties have to be paid per use, ie. Theme park attraction or TV show… ABC TV promos…etc
Its stealing... they are taking something that was to be used in the tv show only .. and putting it in there attractions without permission and not paying the company for there piece, as they are supposed to.
Its stealing... they are taking something that was to be used in the tv show only .. and putting it in there attractions without permission and not paying the company for there piece, as they are supposed to.
Have to agree with DMC-12 here. If the contract was for the TV show only he should get more money for use in the theme parks. it's not being greedy but being compensated appropriately based on the contract signed with Disney. If anything Disney shoudl be chided here for not wither looking at the contract dully or just plain trying to get away with it.
I am pretty sure this is a settle out of court thing. doesn't look too much like something that will get too far in the system beforehand.
I am pretty sure this is a settle out of court thing. doesn't look too much like something that will get too far in the system beforehand.
disnyfan89
Well-Known Member
so get rid of the Millionair music and switch it to the Super Millionair music :lol:
DMC-12
It's HarmonioUS, NOT HarmoniYOU.
Thanks Jeff, I just dont want every one to think I am picking on Disney.. as i am not..LOL :lol:
As to why they waited this long... (to persue getting Royalties from the theme music being used in the attraction) Dunno... No clue.. *shrug*
But yeah.. I see this being setted out of court rather quickly, as well! :wave:
oh...GREAT
Hey guys
well, I thought that after the tussle over the Comcast deal had fallen through I could relax. Now I hear this and I am scared that Disney will have to shut down my favorite attraction at MGM. My September 2005 Disney World trip just keeps getting more dramatic.
does anybody think this will end the deal between ABC and Celador, and mean the end of WWTBAM? Play It!
scared but relaxed
Brian~
Hey guys
well, I thought that after the tussle over the Comcast deal had fallen through I could relax. Now I hear this and I am scared that Disney will have to shut down my favorite attraction at MGM. My September 2005 Disney World trip just keeps getting more dramatic.
does anybody think this will end the deal between ABC and Celador, and mean the end of WWTBAM? Play It!
scared but relaxed
Brian~
I still think it's greed. I mean music should be free. Thats how music should grow. one person gets a song and shares it with someone who shares it with someone else, before you know it the person who made the music gets a following and makes money on TV and concerts and t-shirts etc. I mean the music was made for the show and it was done well, and now it's part of an attraction, instead of being worried about the money, say gee we could use this in our advertising and get more people to get music from me for other things etc. but noooo money money , gimme gimme. want payments multiple times for something done once. It's just simple greed. I am also pro music swapping (I don't do it now because you could get in trouble).
DMC-12
It's HarmonioUS, NOT HarmoniYOU.
Great, ya know what.. tell that to disney to then.. Cause I would REALLY like to use there theme park music in my production studio at home to create some really great radio commericals, without having to pay disney a cent for there creative ownership. K?
Oh... wait... no... then disney would sue me in a heart beat... thats right... I forgot about that part.
:wave: The Road goes both ways ya know
Bill
Account Suspended
This is bull. Celador and Valley Crest signed other contracts with Disney allowing for the construction of theme park attractions. At least this is what I was told loooong ago when they first opened the attraction at the Studios. Perhaps Disney let it expire or something? I really don't know.
daoVinci
New Member
That's ridiculous. Saying music should be free is like saying your boss doesn't have to pay you for the work you do. Even better, I should be able to just copy the work you do and turn it in to my boss. I mean, you work for the joy of it, right?
Just because the artisit enjoys what he or she does, doesn't mean they don't deserve to get paid for it. Besides, most artists only get pennies from the sale of each album. None make money that I know of off of TV (excet the few that get their own TV shows or product endorsements)-- and the typical concert actually loses money...they are more for publicity, to further build the fan base and give something back to the fans.
disneyisbest
New Member
Revenue? I don't think one of the big reasons that people come to MGM is becasue of the millionaire attraction.
Bill
Account Suspended
If you read the article, that's not the main issue. You have pulled something out of a much longer, more in-depth article. The music is only a small part of what Celador is going to sue for.
___________________________
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The British creator of "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?" on Thursday sued the Walt Disney Co., accusing it of "sweetheart deals" with its broadcast and production subsidiaries to cut him out of profits from its U.S. version of the game show.
In a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, series creator Paul Smith and his company, Celador International Ltd., said Disney and subsidiaries ABC and Buena Vista Television manipulated costs to keep the series "at prices well below the fair market value."
A Disney spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
In 1999, Celador went into partnership with the Disney-owned companies to produce and distribute one-hour first-run and half-hour syndicated versions of "Millionaire" for North America, the lawsuit said.
The hit show, which first aired in the United Kingdom in 1998, has been licensed in about 65 territories around the world and broadcast in 106 countries, the lawsuit said.
Under a joint venture with Celador, Buena Vista produced "Millionaire" with host Regis Philbin (news), and the ABC network aired it starting on Aug. 16, 1999, for 13 consecutive nights.
The show was an instant success, putting ABC on top of the ratings for each night it ran and continuing to draw an average of 29 million viewers per night in the 1999-2000 season, according to ABC's Web site.
However, ratings for the show collapsed in 2001, and ABC has not recovered its pull with viewers since.
In its lawsuit, Celador accused Disney of unlawfully interfering in its joint venture with ABC and BVT by pressuring its subsidiaries to hike production costs and refusing to renegotiate licensing fees for better terms.
"In essence, Disney sits on both sides of the bargaining table in any negotiation for the production and distribution rights to the series, thereby enabling it to manipulate negotiations in any way that serves its corporate interests," the lawsuit said.
The suit also seeks to protect the rights of Lusam Music Ltd., which created the brooding theme music for "Millionaire," and claims Disney used the series music without permission in its theme park attractions.
The suit seeks unspecified damages and asks a judge to order Disney and its subsidiaries to disgorge its profits from "Millionaire."
____________________
Plus, Disney had the rights to use the music if they were allowed to "re-create" the show at the park. It's something that would be included in the deal. Saying that it wasn't included is what they are doing. I'm sorry. You're taking something out of context... or perhaps you don't see the big picture.
___________________________
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The British creator of "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?" on Thursday sued the Walt Disney Co., accusing it of "sweetheart deals" with its broadcast and production subsidiaries to cut him out of profits from its U.S. version of the game show.
In a Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, series creator Paul Smith and his company, Celador International Ltd., said Disney and subsidiaries ABC and Buena Vista Television manipulated costs to keep the series "at prices well below the fair market value."
A Disney spokesman did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
In 1999, Celador went into partnership with the Disney-owned companies to produce and distribute one-hour first-run and half-hour syndicated versions of "Millionaire" for North America, the lawsuit said.
The hit show, which first aired in the United Kingdom in 1998, has been licensed in about 65 territories around the world and broadcast in 106 countries, the lawsuit said.
Under a joint venture with Celador, Buena Vista produced "Millionaire" with host Regis Philbin (news), and the ABC network aired it starting on Aug. 16, 1999, for 13 consecutive nights.
The show was an instant success, putting ABC on top of the ratings for each night it ran and continuing to draw an average of 29 million viewers per night in the 1999-2000 season, according to ABC's Web site.
However, ratings for the show collapsed in 2001, and ABC has not recovered its pull with viewers since.
In its lawsuit, Celador accused Disney of unlawfully interfering in its joint venture with ABC and BVT by pressuring its subsidiaries to hike production costs and refusing to renegotiate licensing fees for better terms.
"In essence, Disney sits on both sides of the bargaining table in any negotiation for the production and distribution rights to the series, thereby enabling it to manipulate negotiations in any way that serves its corporate interests," the lawsuit said.
The suit also seeks to protect the rights of Lusam Music Ltd., which created the brooding theme music for "Millionaire," and claims Disney used the series music without permission in its theme park attractions.
The suit seeks unspecified damages and asks a judge to order Disney and its subsidiaries to disgorge its profits from "Millionaire."
____________________
Plus, Disney had the rights to use the music if they were allowed to "re-create" the show at the park. It's something that would be included in the deal. Saying that it wasn't included is what they are doing. I'm sorry. You're taking something out of context... or perhaps you don't see the big picture.