As seen in the recent negotiations between Sony and Disney over the future of the ‘Spider-Man’ franchise, having the rights to quality intellectual property is of the utmost importance to Hollywood studios. Theoretically, if you own the film rights to an IP such as Spider-Man or any other superhero, you can reap the benefits from the money earned from features. However, there’s a recent copyright law in effect that might jeopardize the future of films and TV series based on IP and heavyweights like Disney, Warner Bros, and others are going to be hit hardest.
According to a new report from THR, there’s a law that allows copyright holders to terminate the rights agreements for properties after 35 years. And as a result of this rule, the rights holders of “The Terminator,” “Beetlejuice,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” and other projects are submitting termination notices to the associated studios, informing them that in two years, the rights will revert back to the original owners.
In the case of “The Terminator,” the rights are split 50/50 between director James Cameron and writer Gale Ann Hurd. And under this rule, Skydance, the production company that holds the rights to the sci-fi/action franchise, would have to renegotiate with the two parties if the studio wants to keep making ‘Terminator’ films. If not, in two years, the rights go back up for grabs.
The same can be said for Disney’s rights to ‘Roger Rabbit’ and WB’s rights for “Beetlejuice.” In fact, the report claims that depending on how this rights issue gets worked out (with some hoping that the government will change the rules), we could be looking at many of the franchises from the ‘80s and ‘90s finding themselves in similar situations.
READ MORE: James Cameron Enjoyed Having a “Blank Slate” With ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’
And if folks like Hurd and Gary K. Wolf, the author behind the book that inspired ‘Roger Rabbit,’ win their battles, it could signal a complete overhaul over how studios choose which IP to license and how they go about adapting it for the big screen. If the rights aren’t perpetual, then is it in the company’s best interests to keep paying large sums of money for IP?
Ultimately, we’ll have to see how this plays out in the coming year or so. Because as of now, it appears that some of the biggest IP in Hollywood could be up for grabs soon enough.
