Copyright status of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and related works in the United States
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The copyright status of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and related works in the United States is complicated for several reasons. The book series is very long-running, and written by multiple authors, so the books often fall on opposite sides of eligibility for copyright laws. There have also been multiple adaptations across many different media, which enjoy different kinds of copyright protection. The
Books
L. Frank Baum
When L. Frank Baum began publishing the Oz books, the copyright law in effect was the Copyright Act of 1831, which provided a 28-year term with a possible fourteen more years upon renewal of the copyright. However, the Copyright Act of 1909 retroactively affected Baum's books, allowing a 28-year renewal for fifty-six total years of copyright protection. The L. Frank Baum Trust renewed the copyright on all of Baum's Oz novels.
The Marvelous Land of Oz, which was published in 1904, followed suit and entered public domain in 1960.
All of Baum's subsequent Oz books, published between 1907 and 1920, had their copyright extended by subsequent laws. Between 1962 and 1974, Congress passed nine copyright acts extending the copyright one or two years each time (these acts also introduced the rule that rounds the copyright term up to the end of that calendar year). This ensured that all works published after September 1906 (and renewed as necessary) stayed copyrighted until the Copyright Act of 1976 took effect.[1] The 1976 Act extended the renewal to 47 years, meaning works could stay copyrighted for 75 years after publication. Thus, the rest of Baum's Oz books did not enter public domain until the 75-year terms was up. Ozma of Oz (published in 1907) was the first to enter the public domain in 1983, and the subsequent books followed, with Glinda of Oz (published in 1920) finally entering the public domain in 1996.
This accounts for all of the apocryphal Oz books that sprang forth in the 1980s; once more Oz books entered the public domain, it allowed other authors to utilize those elements in their own works.
All of Baum's other works—non-Oz books, plays, and musicals—are also in the public domain, and have been since 1995 at the latest.
Ruth Plumly Thompson
The first two books written by Ruth Plumly Thompson, The Royal Book of Oz (published in 1921) and Kabumpo in Oz (published 1922), entered the public domain 75 years later (1997 and 1998, respectively) pursuant to the Copyright Act of 1976.
The next twelve books (
Thompson did not renew the copyright on her last five canonical books: The Wishing Horse of Oz, Captain Salt in Oz, Handy Mandy in Oz, The Silver Princess in Oz, and Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz. Thus, these books entered the public domain 28 years after publication, between 1963 and 1967. Congress amended the copyright law in 1992 so there would subsequently be automatic renewals of copyright. Therefore, the copyright on Thompson's deutero-canonical books Yankee in Oz (published in 1972) and The Enchanted Island of Oz (published in 1976) will not expire until 2068 and 2072 respectively.
John R. Neill
John R. Neill's three canonical Oz books—The Wonder City of Oz, The Scalawagons of Oz, and Lucky Bucky in Oz—were published between 1940 and 1942. Neill's heirs renewed the copyrights, so these books will not enter the public domain until 2036 through 2038, pursuant to the 95-year term. A fourth Oz book by Neill—The Runaway in Oz—was written by Neill in 1943. It was published posthumously in 1995. It was edited, expanded and illustrated by Eric Shanower, so The Runaway in Oz will enter the public domain 70 years after the death of the last surviving author. Since Eric Shanower is still alive, The Runaway in Oz will remain copyrighted until at least 2094.
Jack Snow
Snow published two canonical Oz books: The Magical Mimics in Oz in 1946, and The Shaggy Man of Oz in 1949. The copyright was never renewed on either of these, so they entered the public domain in 1974 and 1977, respectively. They are the last two Oz books that entered the public domain.
Rachel Cosgrove
Cosgrove also wrote The Wicked Witch of Oz in 1954. However, it was not published until 1993. Since it was published after 1977, it will remain copyrighted for seventy years after the author's death. Cosgrove died in 1998, so The Wicked Witch of Oz will enter public domain in 2069.
Eloise Jarvis McGraw and Lauren Lynn McGraw
The McGraws' canonical book, Merry Go Round in Oz, was published in 1963.The copyright was renewed, so it will enter the public domain in 2059. It will be the last book in the Famous Forty to enter the public domain.
The McGraws co-wrote another Oz book,
Table of canonical and deutero-canonical Oz books
Order | Title | Year published | Author | Year entered public domain |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | 1900 | L. Frank Baum | 1956 |
2 | The Marvelous Land of Oz | 1904 | L. Frank Baum | 1960 |
3 | Ozma of Oz | 1907 | L. Frank Baum | 1983 |
4 | Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz | 1908 | L. Frank Baum | 1984 |
5 | The Road to Oz | 1909 | L. Frank Baum | 1985 |
6 | The Emerald City of Oz | 1910 | L. Frank Baum | 1986 |
7 | The Patchwork Girl of Oz | 1913 | L. Frank Baum | 1989 |
8 | Tik-Tok of Oz | 1914 | L. Frank Baum | 1990 |
9 | The Scarecrow of Oz | 1915 | L. Frank Baum | 1991 |
10 | Rinkitink in Oz | 1916 | L. Frank Baum | 1992 |
11 | The Lost Princess of Oz | 1917 | L. Frank Baum | 1993 |
12 | The Tin Woodman of Oz | 1918 | L. Frank Baum | 1994 |
13 | The Magic of Oz | 1919 | L. Frank Baum | 1995 |
14 | Glinda of Oz | 1920 | L. Frank Baum | 1996 |
15 | The Royal Book of Oz | 1921 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 1997 |
16 | Kabumpo in Oz | 1922 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 1998 |
17 | The Cowardly Lion of Oz | 1923 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2019 |
18 | Grampa in Oz | 1924 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2020 |
19 | The Lost King of Oz | 1925 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2021 |
20 | The Hungry Tiger of Oz | 1926 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2022 |
21 | The Gnome King of Oz | 1927 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2023 |
22 | The Giant Horse of Oz | 1928 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2024 |
23 | Jack Pumpkinhead of Oz | 1929 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2025 |
24 | The Yellow Knight of Oz | 1930 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2026 |
25 | Pirates in Oz | 1931 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2027 |
26 | The Purple Prince of Oz | 1932 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2028 |
27 | Ojo in Oz | 1933 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2029 |
28 | Speedy in Oz | 1934 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2030 |
29 | The Wishing Horse of Oz | 1935 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 1963 |
30 | Captain Salt in Oz | 1936 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 1964 |
31 | Handy Mandy in Oz | 1937 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 1965 |
32 | The Silver Princess in Oz | 1938 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 1966 |
33 | Ozoplaning with the Wizard of Oz | 1939 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 1967 |
Yankee in Oz | 1972 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2068 | |
The Enchanted Island of Oz | 1976 | Ruth Plumly Thompson | 2072 | |
34 | The Wonder City of Oz | 1940 | John R. Neill | 2036 |
35 | The Scalawagons of Oz | 1941 | John R. Neill | 2037 |
36 | Lucky Bucky in Oz | 1942 | John R. Neill | 2038 |
The Runaway in Oz | 1995 | John R. Neill & Eric Shanower | 70 years after Eric Shanower dies | |
37 | The Magical Mimics in Oz | 1946 | Jack Snow | 1974 |
38 | The Shaggy Man of Oz | 1949 | Jack Snow | 1977 |
39 | The Hidden Valley of Oz | 1951 | Rachel R. Cosgrove | 2047 |
The Wicked Witch of Oz | 1993 | Rachel R. Cosgrove | 2069 (text only)
70 years after Eric Shanower dies (illustrations and cover art only) | |
40 | Merry Go Round in Oz | 1963 | Eloise Jarvis McGraw & Lauren Lynn McGraw | 2059 |
The Rundelstone of Oz | 2001 | Eloise Jarvis McGraw | 2071 (text only)
70 years after Eric Shanower dies (illustrations and cover art only) | |
The Forbidden Fountain of Oz | 1980 | Eloise Jarvis McGraw & Lauren Lynn McGraw | 70 years after Lauren McGraw dies (text only)
2061 (illustrations and cover art only) |
Infringements on the Oz books
Frank Baum
Baum's son,
Alexander Volkov
The Soviet Union did not have international copyright relations until 1973, when it joined the 1971 Paris version of the Universal Copyright Convention. This meant that when The Secret of the Deserted Castle was published in 1982, it was automatically copyrighted in the United States. However, the UCC did not work retroactively, so Volkov's first five works were not copyrighted in the US.
Russia joined the
The copyright lasts for seventy years after the author's death in Russia, as of a 2004 amendment. Volkov died in 1977, so all of his books will enter the public domain in 2048. In the meantime, other Russian authors are continuing Volkov's Oz series, much as American authors posthumously continued Baum's series. Volkov's works received faithful and legitimate English translations by Peter Blystone in 1991, 1993, and 2007.
March Laumer
March Laumer infringed on both American and Russian Oz writers, though he never saw any repercussions because his works were not considered significant enough to fight. He published Oz books between 1978 and 1999, but incorporated elements from all the preceding Oz writers, most of whose works were still copyrighted.
He collaborated with Chris Dulabone to release an English translation of The Yellow Fog in 1986. The two writers then adapted The Seven Underground Kings into The Underground Kings of Oz in 1993. Both of these works, while clearly infringing on Volkov's works, were legal in the US at the time. This preceded Russia's accession to the Berne convention, and the US did not recognize the copyright on any Russian work published before 1973 (The Yellow Fog and The Seven Underground Kings were published in 1970 and 1964, respectively).
Feature film adaptations
Silent Oz films
The copyright on the
1939 film
The
In a landmark case, WB v. AVELA (2011), the US
Journey Back to Oz
Return to Oz
The 1985 film
The only element that Return to Oz used from the 1939 film was the ruby slippers – in the book, there were silver shoes. The ruby slippers had become so iconic due to the MGM film, Disney paid handsomely for the rights to use them.[5]
Oz the Great and Powerful
The 2013 film Oz the Great and Powerful was technically a prequel to the 1939 film, but it was not allowed to be considered as such. The filmmakers had to toe a fine line between calling the film to mind but not infringing on it. To that end, they had a copyright expert on set to ensure that no infringement occurred.
The copyright expert had to make sure that the Wicked Witch's shade of green was distinct enough from Margaret Hamilton's shade of green. The expert also ensured that the Emerald City was not too close in appearance to the Emerald City in the 1939 film.[6]
While WB and Disney did not engage in a copyright battle, they did file rival trademarks. Disney filed a
The Wicked Witch of the West
Notes
- ^ US Copyright Office, "Duration of Copyright"
- ^ Copyright Office, Library of Congress."Catalog of Copyright Entries 1962 July-December"
- ^ Copyright Office, Library of Congress. "Catalog of Copyright Entries 1966-1969 Motion Pictures"
- ^ Stacia Lay, "Warner Bros. Largely Wins Appeal..." Archived 2014-03-24 at archive.today, IP Law Chat, July 5, 2011
- ^ "Ruby Slippers". 2009-03-24. Archived from the original on 2009-03-24. Retrieved 2024-02-15.
- ^ Keith Staskiewicz, "Hello, Yellow Brick Road", Entertainment Weekly, March 1, 2013
- ^ Eriq Gardner, "Disney, Warner Bros. Fighting Over 'Wizard of Oz' Trademarks", Hollywood Reporter, February 13, 2012
- ^ Tim Cushing, "The Insanity of Making a 'Wizard of Oz' Film in Today's IP Climate", Tech Dirt, March 6, 2013
References
- US Copyright Office, Library of Congress. The Catalog of Copyright Entries. The Online Books Page
- Peter B. Hirtle, "Copyright Term and Public Domain in the United States", Cornell Copyright Information Center, January 3, 2014