Well.

[extrapenguin]

Apparently, Disney isn't paying Alan Dean Foster royalties he's contractually entitled to. This has potentially far-reaching consequences:

Disney’s argument is that they have purchased the rights but not the obligations of the contract. In other words, they believe they have the right to publish work, but are not obligated to pay the writer no matter what the contract says. If we let this stand, it could set precedent to fundamentally alter the way copyright and contracts operate in the United States. All a publisher would have to do to break a contract would be to sell it to a sibling company.

- Mary Robinette Kowal, President of the SFWA

Press conference (Facebook, apparently there are captions)

Comments

[trobadora]

Wow. Just, wow. *stares*

[extrapenguin]

I know. It's despicable.

[dhampyresa]

Disney’s argument is that they have purchased the rights but not the obligations of the contract.
Excuse me but what the fuck

[extrapenguin]

Indeed! It's utter and complete WTF.

[china_shop]

What the hell?

[extrapenguin]

MTE. Disney ... was not my favorite media company to start with, and this has made them sink to rock bottom.

[lannamichaels]

That sure is a flexible understanding of contracts.

[extrapenguin]

Very flexible in a very convenient fashion, yes.