Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / ScrewedByTheLawyers

Go To

1%% Extra images removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1443106394074744200
2%% Please do not replace or remove remaining image without starting a new thread.
3%%
4[[quoteright:350:[[Website/YouTube https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/screwedbyyoutubelawyers.png]]]]
5[[caption-width-right:350:No free ''WebVideo/ComediansInCarsGettingCoffee'' episode on [=YouTube=] for you!]]
6
7->"''Hey, hey, kids! Your old pal Krusty is going to teach you five new words: unlicensed use of my image!''"
8-->-- '''Krusty the Clown''', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' ("[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS20E4TreehouseOfHorrorXIX Treehouse of Horror XIX]]")
9
10UsefulNotes/{{Copyright}} and UsefulNotes/{{Trademark}} law have gotten in the way of or forced cancellation for many works. No matter how [[AddedAlliterativeAppeal promising, popular or profitable]] a show is, it's still apt to get canceled if it would be ''illegal'' to keep broadcasting.
11
12Fans may have to KeepCirculatingTheTapes if legal troubles also forbid a home release, or force the official release of an altered version. A RealSongThemeTune might be replaced with a generic theme due to the need for both the rights to the actual song and the rights for the recording itself. TV stations have blanket licenses, but these rights have to be cleared for release on home media. Songwriters and performers might want more money, and the studio might not be willing to pay for it. Scenes might be edited out after legal objections for various reasons.
13
14When it comes to mainstream media, this situation tends to feel more myopic on the part of the owner of the intellectual property in question, as it would make more sense to license a popular and profitable work rather than shut it down (unless they're DoingItForTheArt, of course). On the other hand, NewMedia tends to get hit by this more often due to the universal presence of FanWorks online and their tendency to be helmed by independent creators who really ''can't'' afford any licensing deals; though even then it can feel pointless given the sheer ubiquity--what made that particular work a big enough deal to be worth suing?
15
16Sometimes, the reason why a trademark is so zealously protected is because the holder wants to prevent it from [[BrandNameTakeover entering common use as a generic term]], which would cause them to lose it. This has happened with Aspirin (once a Bayer trademark, they lost it in many countries after UsefulNotes/WorldWarI), Cellophane, and other "genericized" trademarks. It's also why most productions bend over backwards to make sure that RealLife product names [[BlandNameProduct are not mentioned at all]] (unless as ProductPlacement), and certainly ''never'' as generics. But note that this only applies to trademarks, not to copyrights. Additionally, note that (contrary to the common misunderstanding of this law) a company is never legally ''required'' to protect a trademark in order to keep it--they don't lose it simply for failing to protect it; they only lose it if it enters common use as a generic term to the point where it is no longer trademarkable. It can, however, weaken future court arguments if the defendant is able to say "Well they didn't intervene with Case X, so why are they suing ''me''?"
17
18[[Website/{{Wikipedia}} The Other Wiki]] refers to this as the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_anticommons tragedy of the anticommons,]] where the existence of competing rights holders--not just in copyright, but also in patent law,[[note]]Where it's a very serious problem, since technology is iterative. Many companies are highly annoyed by the "patent thicket" keeping them from developing new software and hardware, since so much is patented and they can't build on current without stepping on a patent or two or two hundred. However, no company has an incentive to end the thicket, since they regard ''their'' patents as leverage against others. Making matters worse, there are also "patent trolls" who exploit the patents they hold in order to start lawsuits, even though they don't actually make anything themselves and, in many cases, didn't even invent the things they hold the patents to, instead simply buying the rights from the real inventors.[[/note]] land ownership,[[note]]Most often when someone has a big project and needs to buy up a bunch of lots, giving landowners an incentive to hold out for a higher payday.[[/note]] leasing rights, and other areas--frustrates achieving a socially desirable outcome. To further complicate matters, organizations of all kinds try as hard as possible to [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope blur the lines between copyrights, patents, and trademarks in their favor]].
19
20Related to ScrewedByTheNetwork. May be why NoOriginStoriesAllowed happens.
21----
22!!Examples:
23[[index]]
24* ScrewedByTheLawyers/AnimeAndManga
25* ScrewedByTheLawyers/ComicBooks
26* ScrewedByTheLawyers/FanWorks
27* {{ScrewedByTheLawyers/Film}}
28* ScrewedByTheLawyers/LiveActionTV
29* {{ScrewedByTheLawyers/Music}}
30* ScrewedByTheLawyers/NewMedia
31* ScrewedByTheLawyers/TabletopGames
32** ''ScrewedByTheLawyers/{{Battletech}}''
33* ScrewedByTheLawyers/VideoGames
34* ScrewedByTheLawyers/WesternAnimation
35* ScrewedByTheLawyers/RealLife
36[[/index]]
37
38[[foldercontrol]]
39
40[[folder:Art]]
41* About the UsefulNotes/{{Ital|y}}ian [[UsefulNotes/TheRenaissance Renaissance]] set of painting of the ''Art/SevenVirtues'' (1470), the reason Creator/SandroBotticelli painted only one, ''Fortitude'', is because Piero del Pollaiolo wrestled the commission from him in his favor after contesting the choice of artist by the Tribunale di Mercanzia (the legal body that regulated merchant disputes and craftsmanship guilds in UsefulNotes/TheCityStateEra, arts included) of UsefulNotes/{{Florence}}. Pollaiolo then painted the six others.
42[[/folder]]
43
44[[folder:Literature]]
45* ''Literature/TheBoxcarChildren'': Not only did original author Gertrude Chandler Warner [[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8123179/gertrude-chandler-warner never marry or have children]], but by the time of her 1979 death she had outlived not only her parents but also both of her siblings [[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/193152303/frances-lester-hersey and even those]] [[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116960986/john-anthony_carpenter-warner siblings' spouses.]][[note]]1971, 1975 and 1978 respectively for Frances, John and Marion/Mayo.[[/note]] As the sole child (living or otherwise) among all three siblings, Gertrude's entire estate -- including the Boxcar Children IP -- was left to nephew David Brett Warner (John's son). Naturally, publisher Albert Whitman wasted no time buying out the series for an unknown sum -- and then sat on the franchise for over a decade before relaunching it as [[FollowTheLeader basically a Nancy Drew/Hardy Boys clone for younger readers.]] To add insult to injury, Gertrude Chandler Warner [[https://www.boxcarchildren.com/books/?taxonomy=series&term=the-boxcar-children-mysteries is still the sole name listed on the covers]] despite the Warner family having completely died off and thus having zero creative input whatsoever.[[note]]David Brett [[https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116960985/david-brett-warner died in 1999 at 72]], [[HistoryRepeats himself unmarried with no children.]][[/note]]
46* ''Literature/TheOccupationSaga'': Amazon requires exclusivity as a contractual condition of participation in Kindle Unlimited, so author J.L. Williams has to delete the original {{Web Serial Novel}}s from [=r/HFY=] before publication of the finished book. This actually got their Website/{{Reddit}} account suspended at one point for deleting two dozen posts in quick succession.
47[[/folder]]
48
49[[folder:Networks]]
50* The phrase "Customer Notice: *Insert name of company*, the owner of this channel has forced *insert name of cable or satellite provider* to suspend it despite our repeated requests to keep it available to you" often pops up on certain television systems in the event of a contractual negotiation dispute between the channel owners and television providers providing the systems in question. Notable disputes that led to these kinds of messages include the December 2009 blackout of Creator/{{Fox}}-owned channels from Time Warner Cable (now Spectrum)[[note]]Fox would pull similar stunts with Dish Network and Cablevision within the next year, which would seriously bite them in the ass when the network entered a major AudienceAlienatingEra not long afterward[[/note]] and the July 2012 blackout of Creator/{{Viacom}}-owned networks from [=DirecTV=].
51* Local station owner Sinclair Broadcast Group managed to do this to themselves when attempting to acquire rival Tribune Media. When the deal was first announced, many expected the merger to sail through easily if Sinclair complied with all the necessary divestments they had to make to get FCC and DOJ approval. But Sinclair's ego got the better of them and attempted to divest most of the stations to people who had significant ties to Sinclair so that the broadcaster could still operate the stations without actually violating the laws on paper. The FCC, who under a business-friendly administration was relaxing media ownership rules to benefit companies like Sinclair, [[EveryoneHasStandards wasn't pleased with Sinclair's proposal]] and refused to sign off on it, and Tribune, who was getting fed up with Sinclair's aggressive tactics, as well as the prolonged regulatory review, decided to break up the deal and [[LaserGuidedKarma sue Sinclair for breach of contract]].
52[[/folder]]
53
54[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
55* ''ComicStrip/{{Garfield}}'' had a short run of ''Believe it, or don't'' gags until PAWS Inc. got a cease-and-desist letter from the [[Franchise/RipleysBelieveItOrNot Robert Ripley]] estate.
56[[/folder]]
57
58[[folder:Pinball]]
59* Unlike other games in the series, Creator/ZenStudios' ''[[VideoGame/SpiderManZenStudios Spider-Man]]'' pinball is not available as downloadable content on some platforms' versions of ''VideoGame/PinballFX'' or ''VideoGame/ZenPinball''. Instead, licensing disputes between Creator/MarvelComics and Creator/{{Sony}} require the player to purchase a separate game, "Marvel Pinball", and get it there instead.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]
63* Wrestling/{{ECW}} used popular rock, metal, punk, and hip-hop tracks for ''everything'', from wrestler themes to show themes to video packages, to further their image as a hip, rebellious, underground promotion. Unfortunately, it was also a very cash-strapped promotion, which meant that said music had to be edited out of home video releases to avoid legal entanglements. Part of the reason the promotion commissioned and published the ''ECW Extreme Music'' and ''ECW Anarchy Rocks'' [=CDs=] was so that they could have less expensive cover versions by less well-known bands at their disposal instead.
64* The wrestling vampire [[Wrestling/DavidHeath Gangrel]] was used much less in Wrestling/{{WWE}} after White Wolf threatened to sue for infringement, as Gangrel was the name of one of the vampire clans in its ''TabletopGame/VampireTheMasquerade'' RPG[[note]]The writers were given RPG books as reference material, not realizing that "Gangrel" was not a public domain name like "Nosferatu"[[/note]]. They settled for a 5-year agreement which White Wolf would be credited in any material in which Gangrel was used. White Wolf would eventually sue the WWE in 2008 after they used Gangrel in the [[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]] 15 Year Anniversary Battle Royal without credit. It would turn out that White Wolf failed to protect the trademark,[[note]][[DidntThinkThisThrough Having failed to publish any new material with the name "Gangrel" in it for a number of years]][[/note]] giving the wrestler the full rights to the name.
65* After the Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation went under, former employees {{start|myown}}ed Super Stars Of Wrestling to keep ''some'' of their income flowing. They also decided to keep the AWA name going but didn't have as strong a claim to it as they thought. A lawsuit by WWE ended up putting an end to the brand in North America.
66* Fittingly, it was lawyers who ended up putting an end to "[[PowerStable The Beat Down Clan]]" when Hernandez joined the group only for [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] (who had not checked beforehand to see if they could legally put him on their program) to find itself unable to use any footage of him on their program due to an existing contract Hernandez had with Wrestling/LuchaUnderground. [[note]]Somehow Beat Down Clan member MVP took the blame for this and was fired by TNA... only to immediately be hired by WWE for more money and a better position on the card.[[/note]]
67* WWE Network was forced to pull all ''Stampede Wrestling'' footage from the service after only a few days when Wrestling/BretHart claimed he had the rights to all ''Stampede'' footage featuring him, though they are free to continue circulating footage of him from the other promotions he has signed with, WWE included.
68* One of the things that keeps well off independent circuit wrestlers like Wrestling/LaParka from joining promotions like WWE and Wrestling/{{AAA}} for potentially higher pay checks is freedom to work where and how they want. Start taking that away, as TNA found out when they tried to control Wrestling/MattHardy, and several independent feds end up losing a hot draw to WWE and resent your company rather than WWE for it. AAA affiliated Lucha Underground should have known better, but ended up with [[Wrestling/TrevorMann Ricochet]] abandoning them for WWE after their seven month season delay forced him to miss a Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling tour. Eventually King Cuerno decided to solve the problem concerning Lucha Underground for good, drawing in Wrestling/IvelisseVelez, Wrestling/JoeyRyan and Kobra Moon as he went about it. Together they successfully got Lucha Underground to switch to the Wrestling/{{CMLL}} model of "Do what you want as long as you make your scheduled dates".
69* When the Hardy Boyz returned to the Wrestling/{{WWE}}, fans were excited to finally see [[Wrestling/MattHardy "Broken" Matt Hardy]] in his home company. While Matt kept some of the mannerisms (such as the "DELETE!" taunt), he was more like his original character. The problem was rights issues, with [[Wrestling/ImpactWrestling TNA]] claiming ownership of the character, even though Hardy had created it himself. Eventually, we got a similar gimmick with ''"Woken"'' Matt Hardy, but it wasn't quite the same (though that could be the WWE's influence as much as anything). It seems Hardy is able to be full-blown "Broken" in Wrestling/{{A|llEliteWrestling}}EW, though.
70* Prior to 2002, WWE was known as the WW''F'' (World Wrestling Federation). The name change happened because of a lawsuit from the other WWF: the World Wildlife Fund. [[note]]Now called the World Wide Fund for Nature.[[/note]]
71[[/folder]]
72
73[[folder:Radio]]
74* The regular game on ''Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue'' called "Pick-up Song" - where a song is played in live, a panelist starts singing along to it whilst the music is faded down, and the panelist continues singing ''a cappella'' with the aim being to be as close as possible to the original song when the sound comes back on - is the main reason why the show will never be released in full, and the game was omitted from the compilation releases until recently. (During the COVID-19 pandemic, when the show switched to using virtual audiences, this trope also resulted in said game being rested, since it would involve playing the songs on a live-streamed event.)
75[[/folder]]
76
77[[folder:Rides]]
78* Due to Creator/{{Universal}}'s exclusive licensing contract with Creator/MarvelComics a decade before Creator/{{Disney}}'s acquisition of Marvel, Disney is severely limited in the Marvel-themed attractions they can build at [[Ride/DisneyThemeParks their parks]] in [[Ride/WaltDisneyWorld Orlando]] and Japan, as [[Ride/UniversalStudios Universal's theme parks]] in both areas have built Marvel theming first. Disney is only able to use the characters Universal didn't use such as Film/{{Doctor Strange|2016}} and the Film/{{Guardians of the Galaxy|2014}}. This is why when Disney built a new ''Ride/AvengersCAMPUS'' area (''Stark Expo'' in Hong Kong) for their theme parks in the early 2020s, the Orlando and Japan parks were left out of the mix. Even in [[Ride/{{Disneyland}} Anaheim]], the word "Marvel" cannot actually be used anywhere in the parks as the contract also prevents Disney from using the "Marvel" name ''anywhere'' in their parks in the United States (especially east of the Mississippi River) and Japan.
79* Universal themselves got into a similar situation after acquiring Creator/DreamWorksAnimation in April 2016. While they are free to use [=DreamWorks=]' main franchises in all three of their American resorts, as well as their Japan and Singapore parks, Universal can't use them in countries where [=DreamWorks=] had licensed them to other park operators prior to the acquisition, including Australia, Russia, Dubai and China, where other companies have the licenses[[note]]On a side note, ''Franchise/{{Madagascar}}'' nearly got stuck into this limbo in America since Ride/SeaWorld initially had the rights to the characters, but they let the license for those characters lapse months before Universal took over [=DreamWorks=][[/note]]. Similarly, the 1964 [[Creator/RankinBassProductions Rankin/Bass]] likeness of [[WesternAnimation/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer1964 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer]], whose special is now owned by Universal through [=DreamWorks=], was licensed out to Ride/SeaWorld by [=DreamWorks=] in November 2015, a few months before Universal purchased the studio, so don't expect him to appear in Universal's American parks anytime soon (though he ''might'' be allowed in the Japan and Singapore parks, if Universal is willing to pay royalties to The Rudolph Company).
80* With Disney acquiring [[Creator/TwentiethCenturyStudios 20th Century Fox]] on March 20, 2019, the future of ''Ride/TheSimpsonsRide'' is very uncertain as unlike their contract with Marvel, Universal's rights to ''Simpsons'' theme park attractions are set to expire in 2028, 20 years after the attraction opened. [[ForegoneConclusion Yep, you probably know where this is headed]]. And just like Marvel, Disney is unable to build Simpsons attractions in their US parks but could also build their own ''Simpsons'' attractions in their international parks, seeing as Universal hasn’t cloned the ride in Japan or Singapore. Universal also confirmed that the ''Series/AmericanHorrorStory'' haunted house for ''Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights'' would not be returning for 2019 and beyond because of the deal.
81* After 2006, ''Bill & Ted's Excellent Halloween Adventure'' at Theatre/HalloweenHorrorNights became much more limited in what it can do with its parodies than in the past. For a long time, the show had absolute freedom in what it would lampoon, as the general assumption is that it falls under the "Parody" clause of Fair Use. Things changed in 2006, when Creator/{{Disney}} seemed to disagree and threatened to sue Universal over how the show that year utilized [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Jack Sparrow and Elizabeth Swann]]. The controversy only worsened when on that same year Creator/DCComics came down on Universal for its usage of [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Lex Luthor]] as the main villain of the show, and ultimately filed a cease-and-desist letter against them, which resulted in Lex Luthor being replaced by [[Film/AustinPowers Dr. Evil]] on the final night of the show. After that, the show avoided putting certain copyrighted characters in the spotlight for too long, instead doing things like using a celebrity as the show's main villain rather than a movie villain. This also led to them completely banning videotaping and photography of the show, so as to prevent it from getting onto the internet and attracting unwanted attention. It is believed that the rising worries concerning the potential of legal backlash over the show's content was one of the many reasons why the show was brought to an end after 2017.
82[[/folder]]
83
84[[folder:Theatre]]
85* In 2003, Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa was set to premiere ''Archie's Weird Fantasy'', a stage play about [[Creator/ArchieComics Archie Andrews]] coming out as gay, at Dad's Garage Theatre Company in UsefulNotes/{{Atlanta}}. The day before the play's first performance, Aguirre-Sacasa and Dad's Garage got hit with [[http://www.clatl.com/culture/article/13011053/arch-humor a cease-and-desist letter]] from Creator/ArchieComics, forcing them to quickly rename it ''Weird Comic Book Fantasy'' and [[SerialNumbersFiledOff change all the characters' names]] (Archie became "Buddy Baxter", BettyAndVeronica became "Rosie" and "Monica", Jughead became "Tapeworm"). Given that Archie Comics [[HilariousInHindsight hired Aguirre-Sacasa to write]] ''ComicBook/AfterlifeWithArchie'' in 2013, and then hired him as their chief creative officer the following year, they've clearly patched up their differences since then.
86[[/folder]]
87
88[[folder:Toys]]
89* The Franchise/{{Bratz}} doll line was stopped in its tracks by a 2005 court case that found that the concept was created while its creator was still at Mattel, before making a comeback in 2010, although by that time, their popularity had waned (plus, the new dolls are a bit more conservative). This also had a more permanent knock-on effect for the Animated Shows.
90* Toys/{{Lego}} ''Toys/{{Bionicle}}'' took certain character names and concepts from various Polynesian cultures, mainly Maori. However, [[CommonKnowledge contrary to a widespread belief]] they did not try to trademark them. The closest they got to that was with the UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance game ''Tales of the Tohunga'' -- unknown to LEGO at the time, the word Tohunga (usually defined as "expert" or "craftsman") carried a very culturally sensitive historical meaning (ostracized traditional healers and medical practitioners). Due to threats of legal action from Maori tribal groups, LEGO changed tack, replaced Tohunga with the made-up word Matoran, changed the game's title to ''Quest for the Toa'' and [[MyNaymeIs altered the spelling of many other names]]. With this they managed to avoid a lawsuit, but going forward, LEGO would instate their own legal procedure for creating ''BIONICLE'' names: each name was given an elaborate legal check that reportedly cost a whopping $10,000 per word. This ensured that they would not accidentally use words that had inconvenient double meanings in other languages. As well, nearly all Polynesian-influenced concepts like the deities Papu and Rangi (based on Papatūānuku and Ranginui) or the ritualistic Haka dances were wiped from canon before they were even introduced in media, and the entire ''BIONICLE'' franchise was reorganized behind the scenes to remove its spiritual or mystical elements.
91* It's largely thought that Epoch renamed the Franchise/SylvanianFamilies into ''Calico Critters'' when selling the toys in the US due to a lawsuit brought on by electronics company Sylvania (or to keep from being confused as being related to them). Wikipedia says the reason for the name change was because Tomy lost the right to sell them under that name in '93, while the website doesn't acknowledge either. However, the [[WesternAnimation/SylvanianFamilies animated series]] was allowed to be released on DVD under the original title.
92* In TheFifties and TheSixties, the Airfix model company pioneered merchandising tie-in rights to then-popular TV shows, releasing figure sets based on shows like ''Series/TheAdventuresOfRobinHood'', ''Franchise/{{Tarzan}}'' and ''Series/TheHighChaparral''. Scroll forward thirty years and even though the original TV shows were long gone hazy memories, French company Heller Models (who had bought the rights to Airfix figure sets after the parent company's demise) were forced to market these sets with generic names like ''Mediaeval Archers'' and ''Jungle Adventures'', because they had only bought the molds - copyright in the TV show names remained with the TV producers who had only licensed the rights to Airfix.
93* ''Toys/WackyPackages'':
94** A variety of parodies were vetoed from the get-go, mainly due to reasoning from the original creators. Of note are a variety of ''Creator/{{Disney}}'' and ''Franchise/StarWars'' parody ideas, which never saw the light of day officially. What makes the case with the ''Star Wars'' stickers weirder is that it was going to be an ''official'' series of the cards, made with Creator/{{Lucasfilm}}'s blessing, only to be cancelled after announcement by another executive of the same company.
95** During the punch-out days of the franchise, companies had a touch more leeway, and were able to request pulls for parodies. Some of these would be replaced with other cards, while some cards were simply pulled with no replacement planned.
96[[/folder]]
97
98[[folder:Web Animation]]
99* ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner'':
100** The site had a game based on the See 'n Say toy where a main character would speak if the pointer landed on the corresponding picture. The game was revamped in 2007 to a generic toy with buttons making the characters say the same lines. According to some sources, Mattel sent the Brothers Chaps a cease-and-desist order over the game, resulting in the change. Even the Homestar Runner Wiki was requested to scrub all references to the original version. Prior to Adobe ending support for Flash, [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes the original See 'n Say game could be accessed as a secret page]]. Playthroughs have since been uploaded to [=YouTube=].
101** When "Strong Bad Sings" was released to DVD, the song The Cheat played for Strong Mad had to be changed to "Hot Cross Buns". At the time of its release, the lyrics to the original song, "HappyBirthdayToYou", were considered copyrighted. The cartoon was also re-edited in 2004 to change the phone number at the end after a limousine company in New York complained to the Brothers Chaps that they were receiving calls from people wanting to order the album.
102** The ''WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail'' "duck pond" had two versions of a duck pond simulator. After completing the one on Strong Bad's Tandy 400, a version based on the Atari 2600 can be accessed. Likely as a result of Atari threatening legal action, the latter version was scrubbed in 2005.
103* ''[[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64Bloopers SMG4]]'': [[WebAnimation/Supermarioglitchy4sSuperMario64BloopersTheLawsuitArc The Lawsuit Arc]] is basically an InUniverse example of this trope, which also a serves as DefiedTrope in RealLife, where Creator/{{Nintendo}}, spearheaded by [[AmoralAttorney Lawyer Kong]], is out to remove all non-Nintendo characters from the Mushroom Kingdom and revert it to back its pre-[=SMG4=] state, eventually leading to a firewall being erected that keeps all {{Original Character}}s out [[spoiler: and a DMCA being signed that (temporarily) kills off such characters]]. Ultimately, Shigeru Miyamoto decides to let [=SMG4=]'s channel remain the way it is, but [=SMG4=], [=SMG3=], Fishy Boopkins, and Bob are all redesigned to look less like Nintendo characters.
104* The ''Trainsformers'' shorts, which were a blend of ''WesternAnimation/ThomasAndFriends'' and ''Franchise/TheTransformers'', gleefully poked fun at being unauthorized use of copyrighted material and a violation of it. It shouldn't be a surprise that a copyright protest brought down the four videos made. However, the creator lampshaded this in two non-copyright-infringing follow-up videos, and other Website/YouTube users re-posted the videos, anyway.
105[[/folder]]
106
107[[folder:Webcomics]]
108* [[http://web.archive.org/web/20030802092027/www.penny-arcade.com/view.php3?date=2003-04-14 This]] infamous ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' strip showing ''WesternAnimation/StrawberryShortcake'' InTheStyleOf ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'' had to be taken off the site due to a cease and desist letter the creators got from American Greetings.
109* In ''Webcomic/SchlockMercenary'', the "[[BigBookOfWar The Seven Habits of Highly Effective Pirates]]" had to be changed (even in [[OrwellianRetcon past strips]]) to the "The Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries" after receiving "the world's politest Cease and Desist letter" from [=FranklinCovey=], the owners of the "Seven Habits..." trademark ''eight years after the fact''. However, Howard Tayler claims he didn't mind seeing as he was looking for an excuse to change the name anyway so he could use the Maxims in TheMerch.
110* Mike R. finally [[http://rustyandco.com/what-happened/ explained]] why ''Webcomic/RustyAndCo'' spent several weeks down in December-January 2012-13. There was a danger of years-long lawsuit, but he and his attorney were able to prove that Rusty and most other elements are covered by OGL, public domain or parodies. Still, a few things did trespass Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast's product identity limitations. For example, Yuan-Tiffany the [[SnakePeople yuan-ti]] had to become Y.T. the [[SnakePeople lamia]]. His Kickstarter page still [[http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1327060998/rusty-the-rust-monster-plush-toy-0 says]] "'''''Rusty the Rust Monster - Plush Toy is the subject of an intellectual property dispute and currently unavailable.''' [...] Thanks for your patience.''" But the toys have already started shipping.
111* The ''Webcomic/DysfunctionalFamilyCircus'', a RemixComic of Bil Keane's NewspaperComic ''ComicStrip/TheFamilyCircus'', was shut down upon receiving a cease and desist letter. Greg Galcik initially intended to fight it in court, but changed his mind after a ([[http://www.beyond-black-friday.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/billetsm.gif very sympathetic]]) phone call from Bil Keane himself. They ''did'' let the site go on for one more comic (the [[MilestoneCelebration 500th one]], no less).
112* As can be read [[http://rosalarian.tumblr.com/post/65353128180/its-with-extreme-sadness-that-i-announce-that-my here]], this trope is why ''Webcomic/IWasKidnappedByLesbianPiratesFromOuterSpace'' is no longer available online. Because Platinum Studios brought the rights to [=LPFOS=] in 2006 and that it's a successful webcomic under Platinum's brand, they couldn't host/draw the comic on their own anymore.
113* ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'': {{Parodied|Trope}} with an InUniverse lawyer duo:
114** One fight gets [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0032.html cut short]] because it involves a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' monster that Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast didn't include in its Open Game License. The lawyers haul away the offending creature.
115** {{Invoked|Trope}} by Vaarsuvius, who cuts a WizardDuel short by [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0065.html exposing]] their enemy as an OverusedCopycatCharacter.
116--->'''Vaarsuvius:''' Aren't you a violation of a [[Creator/RASalvatore certain]] popular fantasy author's [[Literature/TheLegendOfDrizzt intellectual property]]?!?\
117''[Lawyers appear and drag Zz'dtri away]''
118[[/folder]]

Top