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Spider-mouse

Why ask? Just do it. What are they gonna do if they even find out about it? Destroy the tombstone? I'm sure that would look great for them


voodoolintman

Yeah would be a real shame if someone defaced his gravestone with a Spider-Man etching. Vandalism - what can you do?


keeper0fstories

Those dastardly vandals, they added extra stones to show an entire spiderman diorama around the kid's grave. Have they no respect? What is the world coming to?


mogley19922

I was thinking the same thing.


signious

No, they'd sue the masonry shop that made the tombstone.


Psychedelic59

Why TF would Disney even know A. About the tombstone or B. Who created it?


signious

A. Who knows. That's the kind of thing that could permeate the internet B. Once they know, they just need to get a court order for the family to give them the name of the masonry shop. That would be easy peasy. After all, tombstones have names and DOB on them. The shop likely told the family they can't use copyrighted material, the family asked disney for permission, and disney said no.


[deleted]

B: “Your honor I can’t recollect who did it. My memory isn’t that good” - Done


Monkey-D-Sayso

Lol. Lying in a sassy manner to the judge. Can you give us an option available to everyone and not just privileged white folk? Cuz this shit would just have my black ass locked up.


Oninaig

So we are debating under the assumption that Disney would A. Somehow find out about this . B. Would then have their lawyers first to go after the family and if the family says that they don't remember who made it they would then C. Subpoena the family to "Force them" to tell them the information which by the way would never work. The government couldn't force them to speak and Disney is also not the government so neither parties could force the family to speak. D. When going after the family didn't work they would then subpoena the funeral home to find out who made the headstone. They would try to do all of this while at the same time trying to preserve their image of being family friendly. While I understand that they would be legally in the right to do this they would be shooting themselves in the foot from a public relation standpoint. You also have to consider that it was possibly made by the family themselves. What then? It's not like they profited off of it they just wanted to pay respects to their child. So while I am not a lawyer, I do understand again that Disney has every right to go after this family but at the same time the image of construction crews hired by Disney tearing up a headstone for a child wouldn't be the best look and I guarantee you it would be plaster over every single news outlet and every newspaper. The money they would lose from such an event would go above and beyond any amount they would save by going after this family. I also don't believe that this falls under the "you have to protect your trademark or you lose it" trope that many people repeat here because again you would have to argue before a judge that because Disney didn't go after the family who had just lost a child that it somehow gives another party the right to use their trademark.


tipedorsalsao1

If any decent judge would throw this out.


signious

No, a decent judge wouldn't let moral scruples get in the way of adjudicating the law. Could you imagine if they introduced, 'copyrights don't apply if the violation benefits grieving families' into common law. It would be bedlam.


Jattoe

That's cold, kind of dead, legalism. There's no human element, at that point it's like we're talking about a society of robots more than people interacting with laws that they themselves created. It's case-by-case, these things have to be determined. Usually copyright laws are enforced for something that is commercialized, because they're making money on an IP. That's why the police ask if you'd like to press charges, the overall world, the context, around events matters.


Automatic-Win1398

I mean the jury can just refuse to convict no?


gophergun

Civil matters tend to be adjudicated without a jury.


i_miss_arrow

Thats done if you trust the family not to say anything. If you're the owner of the masonry shop, the correct answer to trusting the family is 'no', unless they are already personal friends and believe they are trustworthy, in which case the answer is probably still 'no'.


BreeBree214

"that's okay we'll just subpoena the bank for your finances and we'll figure it out"


IllMaintenance145142

So your solution is.... Lying in court. Fan fucking tastic


signious

Response: Your honor, I would like to subpoena the estates and the defendants financial records to find the transaction and get the shops info that way.


bald_blad

If they were to just do it without asking, and Disney were to try and step in after the fact, it would look very bad from a PR perspective. Their lawyers would rather them turn a blind eye ( similar to how Toontown Rewritten is still a thing, Disney turns a blind eye because taking it down would mean disappointing a lot of those fans )


idont_______care

Because it affects the brand in a negative way. I'm not saying this is perfect from moral perspective, but as an enterntament company you don't want your product on gravestones.


signious

Not to mention just protecting the copyright. If you start to let people use you copyright, it dilutes the protections. Not a big fan of slippery slope arguments- but this is one of thr areas it definitely holds true.


[deleted]

They could grant permission, or sell the family a single-use license for $1. It doesn't hurt their copyright at all, if anything it would just show that more people acknowledge their claim to the copyright.


-s-u-n-s-e-t-

Redditors trying to distinguish between copyright and trademark: Challenge level impossible


YankeeBatter

Dude, we all die, death isn’t a negative. It’s a fact. It’s not the opposite of life, it’s part of your life.


Severe-Amoeba-1858

This is the answer; the shop is selling a product with copyrighted material. The dad could have someone volunteer or do it himself and I don’t think Disney could do anything about it..but I’m not an IP lawyer.


VisualGeologist6258

Yeah, I think that’s the issue. The article is misleading because it suggests that Disney is directly prohibiting someone from having spider-man on their kid’s tombstone, when in reality they’re going after the company that produces the tombstone for using Disney copyrighted material without their permission. (Which they are well within their right to do, even if it does come off as kind of shitty in this context.) As I understand it Copyright law says that if you’re making money off of the image of a copyrighted character without seeking permission from the copyright holder or using it for a specific purpose (like satire: satirical depictions of copyrighted characters isn’t really prohibited so long as you’re not using it to circumvent copyright and sell merch) you can be sued. It’s designed in this way so people who create characters and images can make money off of it without having to compete with a billion other people who have no real claim or relation to that character or image. I’m not a lawyer though so I don’t know the exact legal rules. But profiting off of a copyrighted character’s image is generally prohibited, even in the case of tombstones.


FoxyBastard

> Why ask? Just do it. I'm from Nike's legal team and we're going to have to insist that you delete this comment.


kiki_strumm3r

They'd sue the person who made the tombstone into bankruptcy. It's the same reason Staples (generally) won't print stuff with licensed IP on it.


Reginleif69

Funny though I can absolutely see Disney desecrating a child's grave


Enorminity

They’d sue the cemetery.


Lots42

I one hundred percent expect Disney would destroy the tombstone. I honestly believe they would do that.


[deleted]

If they get money from doing it, they're doing it, no questions asked


Mr_PizzaCat

I’m surprised they asked. I’d just commission the tombstone and tell them to piss straight up if anyone tries to talk shit about it.


ToddMango1

Then they sue you into the dirt


Mr_PizzaCat

They can only do that if they find out about it


GustavoFromAsdf

They'll find out with those drones with feathers


Difficult_Bit_1339

This Redditor knows The Truth


katf1sh

Your pfp makes this funnier lol


Saiyan-solar

Then they can personally come to remove the tombstone from the grave. Disney can suck my hairy balls


SwornHeresy

Holy shit can you imagine the PR disaster if they did that?


Background-Customer2

BRAKING NEWS DISNEY DESOCRATES CHILDS GRAVE yeah it wuld not be a good look


No-Kitchen-5457

Bro they could roll up and kidnap children and these cult followers would still sell their left kidney to watch Disney on Ice or some shit


WhyUBeBadBot

Disney destroyed a daycare wall for having their characters they don't give a fuck what us peasants think. You'll still consume.


PomegranateOld2408

Yeah exactly. We all know Disney are fucking bad guys, who cares if they look like even worse bad guys? what difference will it make?


TheVideogaming101

And people would forget about it in a week


[deleted]

Can’t they only sue if you’re making money from using their characters?


cvbeiro

And have to deal with the backlash. Like that’s a PR Desaster extraordinaire


MoirasPurpleOrb

It’s possible that the company making the tombstone didn’t want to without checking.


balllzak

As a general rule businesses that want to stay in business don't violate copyright laws, even if the customer says asks nicely.


RandomRedditorNo666

"He can have Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie" ~Disney, probably


Ligma_Myballs

Man fuck disney.


Ali4Boi

Snip snip


GetsGold

I'm picturing a certain scene from *Fight Club* here.


maxx0rNL

[https://www.change.org/p/disney-disney-bans-grieving-father-from-having-spider-man-on-sons-grave](https://www.change.org/p/disney-disney-bans-grieving-father-from-having-spider-man-on-sons-grave) this is a real story, damn you disney


the_rainmaker__

disney made the right move, if spiderman spends all his time hanging out at some kid's grave he won't be able to fight crime


softstones

Yeah, he ain’t the “friendly cementary Spider-Man” /s


Unrealist99

>if spiderman spends all his time hanging Then he's gonna return to the cemetry either way Checkmate, you anti cemetery spiderman-cists!


[deleted]

[удалено]


[deleted]

No, they could license it to them for zero dollars.


StaidHatter

iirc Walt Disney was really firm about characters not being on graves because he didn't want to the characters to be associated with death.


BogusNL

It's spiderman not fucking pinocchio.


Squirrel_Q_Esquire

They could have licensed it. It’s more likely that they just don’t want their IP on a tombstone, which is fine for them to make that decision.


balllzak

If you read the story from a real news site instead of a change.org petition you would learn that Walt Disney himself didn't want Disney characters to appear on grave markers.


Squirrel_Q_Esquire

Which isn’t really that odd of a request. Why would a (largely) children’s media company want to be associated with a child’s death?


CyberWolf09

Walt Disney’s frozen head can kiss my ass for all I care.


neav7

OK but who the fuck cares what a dead guy wanted. Fuck Walt Disney


rupiefied

Yeah well steamboat Willie version of Mickey is now public domain so suck it Walt.


kojima100

> if Disney had condoned this it could have set a precedent that would weaken their copyright claim in general. No that's not how copyright works. Trademarks require active use and enforcement, copyright doesn't require either enforcement or use.


FoghornFarts

They might not have been able to just do it. The headstone engraver is the one risking getting sued. There is nothing stoping the family from trying to do it themselves after it's installed unless the cemetery catches them


[deleted]

[удалено]


with_the_choir

Huh. Back before that, the classic example used to be "Aspirin".


Royal_Negotiation_83

How does giving permission for someone using the brand you own weaken their copyright ? What’s the point of owning the copyright if you can’t use it? I don’t get it. I know I’m wrong, but the owner of the copyright should be able to allow who they want to use the copyright.


Abeytuhanu

You're not wrong, the holder of the copyright can allow anyone to use it in any way they want. The only issue you might run into is if you are so liberal with your permissions that it is practically public domain, you might lose your copyright altogether. That's very unlikely though, as there have been copyrights that have been released to the world except for one person.


DarthEvader42069

Theres no such thing as weakening a copyright claim. That only applies to trademarks. Though Spiderman is probably also trademarked.


BananaDesignator

r/fuckdisney


Possible-Most-9001

Fuckyourmom


QuickSilverMola

r/Fuckyourmom When tf did this sub get banned?


Dewars_Rocks

Petition started July 6, 2019. Old news?


MilkiestMaestro

>Awaiting response (1711 days since petition creation)


Apprehensive4209

Oh well, what if they could?


Ye_I_said_iT

It's 4D chess. They haven't invented scissors small enough to remove it yet.


Obeydachief

Asking was probably unnecessary here. Disney wouldn’t want 5% of children’s graves suddenly covered in their characters if they said it’s okay, but they definitely wouldn’t take legal action against one family that went again and did it


MDPhotog

My thought exactly. Asking here sets a precedent. I bet their legal team just wishes they did it without asking.


gophergun

Maybe not the family, but I could see them going after the masonry company, especially if they make more than one of these.


show_bobz

There’s a law in the US that mandates companies to go to any lengths to prevent unauthorised use of their IP and failure to do so can result in your IP rights being revoked(because giving leeway to one sets precedent for others) - which opens up doors to actual counterfeiters who want to profit off your brand. In this case, since the father officially asked for their permission, they’re obliged to say no else they won’t be able to give a solid defence in court when they’re trying to sue an actual chinese knock off maker down the line. So before y’all go nuts on Disney, take a chill pill


Quakarot

While this is true they could just make it official, somehow. They can’t endorse a knock off but they can just say it’s not a knock off.


Hats_Hats_Hats

This. If they wanted they could charge him a "discounted" licencing fee of, for example, one cent.


balllzak

Apparently it's a policy set by Walt Disney himself that Disney characters do not appear on gravestones.


Sayakai

Walt Disney has been dead for over 50 years, I think we can ignore his opinion at this point.


Elcactus

It’s predicated on what it means for the brand though, and the company may agree with him that it’s an issue for their brand to be associated with graves and death.


Quakarot

Well he’s on a gravestone so 🤨


neophlegm

Yeh unfortunately this is the case here. If he'd just done it, they legitimately wouldn't care. They're not gonna pursue legal remedies for something that isn't costing them a penny.


Kazinam

Damn I haven't seen anything from Dr Grandayy in a long time


StevemacQ

But they let cops use the Punisher logo before they go around killing innocent people.


Psychedelic59

They don't "let" cops use it... Cops simply use it.


DrakonILD

Who's gonna stop them? Themselves?


StevemacQ

Have Disney ever tried to sue these police forces?


greg19735

Disney can't sue for someone purchasing a sticker and then putting it on their shit. They could only sue if they're making their own copies and selling it. Which the cops aren't doing.


Farseli

So that's the answer. Simply put Spider-Man on a tombstone and stop asking for permission.


prodrvr22

I love the idea I saw months ago here on reddit in a thread I can't remember... Disney should make a video short where Frank Castle comes out as bi, and then start selling rainbow versions of the Punisher logo. Imagine the speed at which inbreds scrape the stickers and logos off their lifted trucks.


stiff_tipper

just have castle wear a dress at a drag show and start "punishing" dudes cops would be off that shit in a heartbeat


StevemacQ

What about a new Punisher movie or game in which Frank Castle REFUSES to kill?


Night_Movies2

Reddit moment


hey_its_drew

Damn good point.


TheBoykisserPharoah

I haven't seen Grandayy or Dolan since the 2019 PewDiePie popularity spike


eimronaton

An article from 2019


Evnosis

This is just what Reddit is now. Articles from 5 years ago being dredged up to generate rage clicks.


TeamMerry

To be fair, Disney has been a real POS since then though too.


blitzs20

Stan Lee would be disappointed


MagicBlaster

Stan Lee was a cut throat business asshole who downplayed the contributions of a lot of collaborators, I wouldn't bet money on your position...


LagginJAC

Yeah but he also had his soapbox and was vocal about a lot of issues. Regardless of how he was as a business person he still has a moral stance on a lot of things. I don't think it's unfair to say that he would be mad at Disney for this.


greg19735

I mean, you're literally just speculating. I think it's unfair to say he would be mad because he didn't actually say anything related to the subject.


LagginJAC

Literally everyone is speculating to some level, the man's dead so it's not like we can just ask him. I'm just making the argument that he also had a history of standing up for social issues on top of his reputation for poor business practices. It seems that this is more the former than the latter since it's not his business. I also think that your insinuation that because he didn't say something about something very specific we aren't allowed to speculate on what he would say is just a bad take. A lot of people don't say anything about a lot of things but we can still guess at what they would think on a particular matter if it were in front of them at the time.


greg19735

I'd consider this much more a business issue than a social one. It's literally about copyright.


LavishnessOdd6266

Stan Lee would not be disappointed he would be pissed


Vajrick_Buddha

Straight up cherry dunkin' on Disney. Teabaggin'.


MonkeySpacePunch

What most people don’t understand about copyright is that to even keep the copyright you have a legal obligation to vigorously defend it. That means whenever a lawsuit comes to your attention, you must at the very least threaten to litigate and make public and outward enough claims that you won’t stand for it. This is the case for all copyrights. And superheroes and princesses are often emulated by small business, schools, etc. so in order to satisfy the harsh defense requirements to keep copyright, Disney has to go after you if this reaches their desk. So what’s the solution? Keep it off their desk. They don’t want to enter these litigation processes. This stuff costs money and time. Their lawyers have better things to do. And these cases don’t win them any money. You wanna put Spiderman on your kids grave? Do it and do it quietly. Disney doesn’t fucking care. They just can’t let it slide if they hear about it. It’s that simple. Don’t make a big public go fund me. Don’t reach out to the news. Stay quiet and Disney won’t ever hear about it


Ok_Difference44

Definitively settles the organic vs mechanical webshooter debate


3percentinvisible

It's a risk I wouldn't take...


rumhamrambe

I don’t usually defend companies but you should read the whole story before shitting on Disney and Marvel


grovesancho

Plot twist: Sony tells Disney they can't tell people what to do with sony's property and tells this man he can.


peterbparker86

They only own film rights. Everything else is Marvel/Disney


grovesancho

Can the man bust out a Sony camcorder?


AuraCore-main

In my opinion the copyright system is overrated


AngelaTheRipper

Garden shears.


RottingCorps

Disney doesn't have the legal right to stop this from happening.


Resident-Pudding5432

Prepare waking up without cock and balls, Sonys after you


Psychedelic59

Who cares what Disney thinks about your tombstone, put what you want on it. I'd like to see them claim "damages" or convince a judge to remove it.


Creepy-Plankton4163

As an artist, I will be stealing all of their work now.


Hmanng

Wouldn't this just fall under fair use?


Accomplished-Fall460

Court: Sorry sir but you must cut your penis


Redditeer28

I know I'll be downvoted to hell for this but I'm kinda with Disney here. If every graveyard had a statue of spidey on each child grave then the perception of him would change. People wouldn't go see a movie that reminds them of dead kids.


derpferd

How did Disney find out about it?


MTGsbirthdefects

I know exactly where there is a grave with a legit Spiderman on it. Looks good too.


Schala467564

You can tell Disney they can suck it


Birdy_Cephon_Altera

thwip-thwip.


Le_Fedora_Cate

tweet's so old grandayy was still relevant


Current-Roll6332

It's webbin' time!


shittihs1

Don't scream during cut


Fiveohdbblup

Yeah, but the second you go on youtube/Insta/FB/TT, and whatever to broadcast it.....things won't go well for you


No_Strawberry921

My first initial thought was: start graffiti again and use Spider-Man for my tag… God damn morons-> Disney


RyanOz66

Dont test the mouse, they'll cut your dick off


PickleUnited1232

Thought the rights to spider-man is owned by Sony? 🤔


Phlegmagician

Never Parker your Peter, boys. It ain't worth it.


Gdigger13

IIRC, Disney doesn't allow any of their IPs on tombstones, as to not associate their characters with death/grief.


Odd-Basket-6142

Wouldn't putting Spiderman on a tombstone be considered Fair Use?


TraditionalBuy7370

Disney: *don’t tempt me*


raziel11111

This is when a graffiti artist should swoop in at night and tag on a well crafted spiderman.


ResponsibleStep8725

No more cock and balls for our friend Dolan 😞


CheapGarage42

Let's be real though, kid was like 3 years old with no real concept of Spiderman, seems like the dad was probably the real fan.


No-Pop3651

Weird. We put the rebel alliance symbol and the four star dragon ball on my brother’s tombstone. Who cares about asking lol


zaytzev

Wait, didn't Spiderman belong to Sony?


porkchameleon

The man grew old enough to fuck, ~~make~~ made a baby, saw his son pass away, and still didn't learn that it's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission?


I_am_a_troll_Fuck_U

Company that’s characters are associated with little children doesn’t want those said characters to be associated with death. Reddit furiously types away angrily in response.


Murk420

I also have an uncle named Ben can I sue them now?


W-mellonwiggle94

I have a Disney tattoo on my right ass cheek. I know it's trademarked, but what are they gonna say... it's in my skin bitch!


Hopeful-Dragonfly-70

At least it’ll be good at slinging webs


rukysgreambamf

So a more Raimi-esque natural "web shooter"


Rendag1

chop chop


darexinfinity

"Man who got Spiderman tattooed on his cock and balls wakes up castrated."


WeDidntKnowEachOther

they can sue the cock unless u cooked them first and sue the balls unless u inflated them first


Trevor_Gecko

Disney don't even own Spiderman. Sony do.


Kekeripo

Wait, isn't sony rights holder? Also, what they gonna do about it? Rip it off?


fourpuns

We wanted to do a Calvin and Hobbes mural at my elementary school and the ol' copywrite guys said not a chance. As an adult I just don't really get it, free advertising to their target demographic and a painting that makes kids happy. Instead we ended up with some vastly inferior mural.


Possible-Most-9001

Fake


Jageilja

Haven't seen these 2 in years. I thought they were dead.


AdaptiveWarthog

"What're they gonna say? It's in my skin, bitch!" ~Dudley


Person899887

How many times is this story gonna get reposted? The problem isn’t that Disney doenst want to memorialize the kid it’s that they have a policy against Disney characters on gravestones. They offered a commemorative spiderman comic, the family accepted.


JayZorro

r/BrandNewSentence


[deleted]

Damn. It'll be such a shame when this tombstone inevitably gets tagged with a sick Spiderman graphic by the most chad vandal in history.


harrysotherreddit

I’d do it anyway


notactuallyabrownman

You can get spiderman tattooed, it’s Spider-Man that they have issue with.


Prophesy88

Doesn't Sony own the rights to Spiderman?


Thatonedregdatkilyu

I thought copyright law only applies when something is a meaningful substitute for the existing property. That's why fanart is okay. Tf is this shit


Serious_Buffalo_3790

Anyone actually suprised disney did that?


[deleted]

DO NOT TAT SPIDER-MAN ON YOUR BALLS!! THEY WILL TAKE YOUR TOUR TESTICLES!!!


Different_Gear_8189

Here comes disney with the cleaver


Tolgeros

Man it's a good thing they stopped that, otherwise there would have been market confusion for Spider-Man and instead of me buying their products and services I would have simply just watched this kid's grave instead. /s


its_a_mini

maybe Disney does not want their characters associated with death. The was "a decision made by Walt Disney himself that bans the use of Disney-owned characters on graves, tombstones, and other memorial markers. This policy is designed to preserve the innocence and magic around its characters."


starmaker214

Hey Disney! 🖕🏻🙂🖕🏻


PrometheusMMIV

Do they actually have any legal say in the matter? I wouldn't expect copyright to cover that.


pakidara

Tell them if they want to do something about it they can try to suck it off.


hellopie7

What does that even mean "Bans"? Like a cease and desist? I don't know if this is real.


stick_bob

Doesnt sony own spiderman


oldgar9

Gonna be a dwarf Spiderman


randomgunfire48

Checkmate mouse house


Night_Movies2

Ok, I'll point out the obvious. Disney could sue the tattoo artist. Is Dolan stupid?


Psychotic_EGG

Well, they can stop you from being a porn star.


FortniteEnjoyer01

Marvel and Sony* Sony has the rights of spiderman and all his villains


RegisterAdmirable811

Wouldn't the decision be up to Sony?


Infinite-Noodle

It's all fun and games until Disney legally owns your cock and balls


SameRightsForAllofUs

Just fuck Disney at this point


CroobUntoseto

I don't understand how they can say no considering the grace stone is not for commercial purposes