So as many of you know I do some voice acting in my spare time. I have done it for a few folks. The most prominent amoung them is Pendant Audio Where I am list cast member on a few shows. However today I have news from another group I work with from time to time. Broken Sea audio is a similar sort of operation run by among others some folks in New Zealand. One thing to remember about the audio drama community is that we are an incestuous lot. Actors flow pretty freely between the various companies.
Anyways Broken sea got a bit of press today. They produce a Conan audio drama based on the Robert E Howard books. These books are in the public domain in New Zealland and here in the states. A company contacted them recently with a cease and desist. Conan Properties International LLC (aka Paradox Entertainment)Claims to own the world wide rights to the Conan stories and all related Intellectual Property.
In short they claim that if it is not public domain anywhere in the world then Broken Sea can't use it online.
I think my opinion on this can be summed up by a comment posted on boing boing about this.
"Conan Properties International LLC, what is best in life?"
"To crush your fans, see them driven before you, and hear the litigations of the lawyers."
Anyway the story got picked up by a few sources.
Go take a look.
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/02/25/conan-copyright-trol.htmlhttp://www.sffaudio.com/?p=4128http://www.cnet.com/8301-11455_1-10172086-10.htmlhttp://www.agidoo.com/entertainment-2/conan-and-new-zealand%E2%80%99s-new-copyright-law-vs-broken-sea.htmlOkay I have a reputation for being some who as Kristyn once put it "Could argue with a chair." I also can get into arguments with folks on stuff I don't believe just to see where the argument goes. Some people have asked me in the past if there was anything I truly believed in anything. You want to hear me go off on someone for something and here my real thoughts. Then it is the abuse of copyright law. I hate it. Pretty much with my whole body. The guy is dead for over 70 years now. How the frak can these twits claim ownership. Is it even owned by his family or something? He did not have kids or a wife. It is not like there is a widow depending on this for income.
This is just some company in Sweden who decided they make a butt load of money on the name and works of someone they had no involvement in at all. The other properties these guys claim to own are Other properties include Bran Mak Morn, Kull, Solomon Kane, Mutant, Mutant Chronicles, Warzone, Kult, Heavy Gear, and Chronopia.
It is nice to see some folks I deal with get some press, but this is not the preferred method. My only enjoyment in this is maybe it will bring enough attention to the fact these guys are doing this kind of crap that someone stands up tells them to bugger off.
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