# How to get permission from Disney to use parts of their film(Lion King)



## lightingguy1 (Nov 8, 2011)

Hey Guys,

The regional theatre here is doing the Lion King, and they've asked me to design lights and figure out how to get permission from Disney to use parts of the movie for the play. We already have the script and such, but they want to go a little crazy this year (Of course...).

I.e...We have a scrim DS, and a DL.3 in the projection booth - They want to project parts of the Lion King movie onto the Scrim during transitions - as fill content.

We are a non-profit organization, so we aren't making money of any of this....Grants from a few local pro theatre organizations paid for the scripting matter.....

Thanks!
-Lightingguy1


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## shiben (Nov 8, 2011)

lightingguy1 said:


> Hey Guys,
> 
> The regional theatre here is doing the Lion King, and they've asked me to design lights and figure out how to get permission from Disney to use parts of the movie for the play. We already have the script and such, but they want to go a little crazy this year (Of course...).
> 
> ...


 
Call them up? Honestly I dont know, but I would imagine you might be looking at a lot more coin dropped for it.


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## Grog12 (Nov 9, 2011)

shiben said:


> Call them up? Honestly I dont know, but I would imagine you might be looking at a lot more coin dropped for it.


 
Uhm sell your soul would also be a good first step. People who work at the park aren't even allowed to take pictures for thier portfolios so you may have a bear of a time with this. But shiben is right, start with a phone call.


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## Footer (Nov 9, 2011)

Do you have rights to the show (not movie)... from Disney? Just asking, as far as I knew the show was not released, hell its still selling like hot cakes all around the country and in NYC. One of my former employers has the inside track to get all the the Disney shows the first year they are released... and they have never done this show. 

If you don't have rights, you don't have a show. You don't want to mess with the mouse, it bites hard.


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## Van (Nov 9, 2011)

Not to be a wet blanket, But your chances of getting rights to show a piece of Disney film, even in a 'Disney' show are about the same as a if you asked the Mormon Tabernacle choir to sing back up for your production of " The Book of Mormon." They will not release them. 

and while we're on the subject.

"We are a non-profit organization, so we aren't making money of any of this....Grants from a few local pro theatre organizations paid for the scripting matter....."

You might be a non-profit theater, but never make assumption that no one is making money.


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## porkchop (Nov 9, 2011)

Tread lightly and make sure all everything is right legally. Disney sends cease-and-desist orders to performers over facebook pictures.


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## SHARYNF (Nov 9, 2011)

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but local production rights to Lion King are NOT available at this time, SO I would NOT even think of calling them and asking to be able to show film clips

Full Length Shows | Disney Musicals

I am guessing you are looking at 5-7 years from now before the rights might be available for local production. As long as there is ANY touring or Broadway performances, then the Local Performance rights are not available

Sharyn


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## Van (Nov 9, 2011)

SHARYNF said:


> Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but local production rights to Lion King are NOT available at this time, SO I would NOT even think of calling them and asking to be able to show film clips
> 
> Full Length Shows | Disney Musicals
> 
> ...


 
Soooooo, the real problem here is that you are scheduled to do lights for a show that the theater can't possibly have the rights to produce. You have MUCH bigger probles than securing some rights to film stock. You need to get the producers to file for rights to do the show. Belive me, Disney does NOT play nice. They will sue your company into non-existence.


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## kiwitechgirl (Nov 9, 2011)

porkchop said:


> Tread lightly and make sure all everything is right legally. Disney sends cease-and-desist orders to performers over facebook pictures.



Or, in one case, sued a couple whose young daughter had died; her favourite story was Winnie-the-Pooh and so they put some characters from the books on her gravestone. Disney found out and sued them.


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## cpf (Nov 9, 2011)

kiwitechgirl said:


> Or, in one case, sued a couple whose young daughter had died; her favourite story was Winnie-the-Pooh and so they put some characters from the books on her gravestone. Disney found out and sued them.


 
Stay classy, Disney.


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## DrPinto (Nov 9, 2011)

You may find this quick history of copyright law informative. There's even a thing or two about Disney in it.

Copyright: Forever Less One Day - YouTube


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## museav (Nov 9, 2011)

lightingguy1 said:


> We are a non-profit organization, so we aren't making money of any of this....Grants from a few local pro theatre organizations paid for the scripting matter.....


It sounds like in this particular case you have other major issues to address, however a couple of general points here since this topic seems to be misunderstood by many.

First, as I understand it a "non-profit" is basically a business or organization formed without the intent of generating profit for the owners or shareholders. Being a non-profit usually means not having any individual owners or shareholders who could then personally benefit from profits or dividends but it does not necessarily mean that the "non-profit" itself or its employees can't or aren't intended to profit. Employees of non-profits can be paid, in some cases quite well, and a non-profit may make money that it invests back into itself or into other groups or organizations. I believe an "non-profit" may also carry a positive financial balance if it is earmarked for appropriate use, e.g. funds for construction, special events and so on that fall within the group's scope and purview. Being a "non-profit" does not really relate to trying to or actually making a financial profit, in fact probably most non-profits exist specifically to generate income, and has much more to do with what can be done with any profit that is generated.

Beyond that, the issue with rights is not whether one profits financially, it is whether any benefits are obtained or whether any 'damages' may be incurred by the rightsholder. Some examples:


It is rare that someone puts on a production or performance without there being some benefit for someone in doing so, thus someone usually receives a benefit even if not a financial one.

Might people who attend your production as result of that then not attend a different production or performance of it? Could your production or performance discourage another area venue from also doing it? Might anyone garner a negative perception of the play/song/video/playwright/composer/author/etc. as a result of the performance or production? These are examples of damages, basically where your actions result in some potential negative impact on or loss of potential income for the rightsholder.

Might the production or performance associate the rightsholder with a group, charity, cause, etc. with which they may not want to be associated? Another example of potential damages.

A disclaimer that I am not an expert in these matters and each situation may be different. These are areas where the risks can be significant and the investments in someone well versed in them well worth it.


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## DrPinto (Nov 9, 2011)

kiwitechgirl said:


> Or, in one case, sued a couple whose young daughter had died; her favourite story was Winnie-the-Pooh and so they put some characters from the books on her gravestone. Disney found out and sued them.



The Disney corporation did have a change of heart:

Disney lifts Pooh bear grave ban - Telegraph


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## shiben (Nov 9, 2011)

kiwitechgirl said:


> Or, in one case, sued a couple whose young daughter had died; her favourite story was Winnie-the-Pooh and so they put some characters from the books on her gravestone. Disney found out and sued them.


 
And I thought the attack dogs of the RIAA were bad.


DrPinto said:


> The Disney corporation did have a change of heart:
> 
> Disney lifts Pooh bear grave ban - Telegraph


 
That was nice of them... So we will have to give someone else the [unprintable name] of the year award this year...


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## shiben (Nov 9, 2011)

In related news, anyone want the place bets on the likelihood that Disney already has a lawyer or 20 on the case thanks to this thread?


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## chausman (Nov 9, 2011)

shiben said:


> In related news, anyone want the place bets on the likelihood that Disney already has a lawyer or 20 on the case thanks to this thread?


 
Probably, but now the OP could possibly save them a lot of money if they don't even get started with the show.


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## shiben (Nov 9, 2011)

chausman said:


> Probably, but now the OP could possibly save them a lot of money if they don't even get started with the show.


 
I honestly dont think Disney really worries about how much money they spend on making sure people have a good time as per their definition (namely making them absolute loads of money while making people happy to dig deep into their pocket), so who knows they might sue just for the fun of it...


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## DrPinto (Nov 9, 2011)

Footer said:


> If you don't have rights, you don't have a show. You don't want to mess with the mouse, it bites hard.


 
That's what I heard too. I wouldn't be surprised if a Disney employee trolls Control Booth looking for information on productions that might violate the copyright on their material.

I don't understand why the LD was even asked to get the rights for a show. Isn't that the responsibility of the producer or director?

I would run away from this one. I would hate to see someone who is just an LD get dragged into some legal mess.


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## sk8rsdad (Nov 9, 2011)

Disney is so well known for protecting intellectual property that the RCMP hired them. For our US colleagues who might not recognize the RCMP acronym, the closest analog is the FBI.


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## josh88 (Nov 9, 2011)

DrPinto said:


> I don't understand why the LD was even asked to get the rights for a show. Isn't that the responsibility of the producer or director?


 
not that this logic is sound but I would venture a guess that they might have said, 

"well it's being projected... that's light... so that means it's his (or her) job to deal with it then."


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## lightingguy1 (Nov 9, 2011)

*Re: How to get premission from Disney to use parts of their film(Lion King)*

Hello everyone,

Thanks for all of these responses...

I called the company's director, and they said this was all a pre production plan....Nothing has been done, so no worries.

Also, I have droped this project & company.
Thanks!!


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## museav (Nov 9, 2011)

Not trying to defend Disney as I personally believe they often go too far, but there is some validity to the perspective that if you want to protect your ability to pursue any form of unauthorized use or reproduction then you may need to address all forms of unauthorized use or reproduction. By opening the door to any exceptions you may seriously weaken your argument in regards to other perhaps not so innocent exceptions.

Also, the reality of our legal system is that sometimes it is simply easier or the better option to sue and then work out an agreement than to try to reach an agreement in advance in lieu of filing a lawsuit. That's what happens when you have lawyers making the laws.


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## ruinexplorer (Nov 9, 2011)

Intellectual rights are the most difficult to protect and thus must have the most aggressive tactics to protect them. Of course, this can cause a hatred of those protecting their rights as being the big bad meanie and often gets altered through urban legend (being a stillborn instead of young child and suing the stonemason instead of the family). 

Often times, with large corporations, the low man on the totem pole just is following policy, but when the press gets ahold of it, whatever the situation must go up to get the approval. It looks like the big bad corporation is turning tail when it just hadn't gone the full course as of yet.

Even if no one is to profit directly through the unlicensed use of intellectual property, there can be problems. This is why corporations will fight tooth and nail to protect their rights. It isn't unheard of for lawsuits to include parties, who are not directly involved, in some situation just because they happen to be the wealthiest target (the Whitesnake performance/night club fire comes to mind).


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