History ScrewedByTheLawyers / LiveActionTV

* The creators of ''Series/TheSandman2022'' were unable to secure the rights to [[Characters/HellblazerJohnConstantine John Constantine]], because Creator/DCComics wanted to feature the character for a potential HBO Max series. His role in the series is instead played by [[DistaffCounterpart Johanna Constantine]] (named after John's ancestor from the comics, who also appears in the series).

* The 1984 documentary ''Dinosaurs'' hosted by Creator/GaryOwens and Eric Boardman was not released to home video as a result of licensing issues with Disney related to clips of ''Film/{{Fantasia}}'' and segments shot at Epcot's [[Ride/EllensEnergyAdventure Universe of Energy]]. They worked around this for the 2024 ''Dinosaurs Forever'' set by recreating the Epcot scenes with animations and simple props and having people re-enact the ''Rite of Spring'' by mashing inflatable dinosaur toys together while humming the tune.

** When the BBC set out to make every existing episode of the series available on [=iPlayer=] in 2023, Stef Coburn, son of scriptwriter Anthony Coburn, refused permission for the first serial, "An Unearthly Child", preventing the BBC from putting it up.

* The BBC's ''Series/TopGear'' has had this issue with quite a few episodes as well. Most notable was the Vietnam episode where "Born in the USA" has to be replaced with "The Star-Spangled Banner" because of licensing issues. Not only is the change obvious for anyone who saw the original release, but it kills a joke told by Richard a minute later.

*** Toho was also extremely strict about the Gamera films featured, them being the last films to be allowed repeat viewings, and only then for a very limited time. Supposedly, the Toho executives were horrified to see ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' rip into the Gamera films, creating bad blood that Shout!'s best negotiating couldn't resolve. This is also arguably a case of ValuesDissonance, as Japanese studio executives are not accustomed to content mocking their work[[note]]See, for example, Toei Animation's similar bad blood with Team Four Star over ''Dragon Ball Abridged''[[/note]] and will adamantly not provide the permission to allow it to happen.

* The streaming versions of the soundtrack-reliant American ''Series/QueerAsFolk'' had much of the music replaced with banal soundalikes, causing significant damage to the story and atmosphere. Among the most frustrating examples is an early episode where the cast are out dancing and, in the original, react with delight to the iconic opening of Music/{{ABBA}}'s "Dancing Queen"; in the streaming version they inexplicably react with delight to ... something completely unremarkable and unrecognizable.

* The creators of ''Series/TheSandman'' were unable to secure the rights to [[Characters/HellblazerJohnConstantine John Constantine]], because Creator/DCComics wanted to feature the character for a potential HBO Max series. His role in the series is instead played by [[DistaffCounterpart Johanna Constantine]] (named after John's ancestor from the comics, who also appears in the series).

* Since "Main/HappyBirthdayToYou" was still under copyright at the time, a segment in the Season 7 premiere of ''Series/SesameStreet'' on the ''Old School: Volume 2'' DVD ends abruptly after David notices his present from Maria.

* Since "Music/HappyBirthdayToYou" was still under copyright at the time, a segment in the Season 7 premiere of ''Series/SesameStreet'' on the ''Old School: Volume 2'' DVD ends abruptly after David notices his present from Maria.