Copyright Law Blog

Billion Dollar Animation Industry

August 3rd, 2009 at 06:43pm Under intellectual property

Billion Dollar Animation Industry

The Second Golden Age of Animation is creating enormous revenues from both box office gross to billions of dollars in sales generated by all manner of kids’ products spinning off from Intellectual Properties aimed at the kiddy market, products that range from the bizarre (Spongebob) to the sublime (Harry Potter).

 When was the First Golden Age of Animation? This was a period in American animation history beginning in 1928 that began with the introduction of sound cartoons. It continued into the early 1960s when the introduction of this new medium of television animation drew audiences away from cinemas. It was during these years that an impressive number of Animation Properties came into being; such characters as Tom and Jerry, Superman, Woody Woodpecker, Felix the Cat as well as a huge range of Disney characters.

 Walt Disney’s first films; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Bambi came into being during this era.

 What then is the Second Golden Age of Animation? It is happening today. Traditional animation, called cell animation, had been the standard since the 1920’s. Very labor intensive, cell animation was the backbone of the Disney corporation production facility and other companies such as Hanna Barbera. The introduction of computers, while slow to take hold, has completely changed the face of animation production taking animation from two dimensional characters to three dimensional images that are more realistic, easier to manipulate and store and most importantly, are the backbone of the huge video gaming market.

Animated films have far outstripped other genres in home video and DVD sales in the last fifteen years with retail dollars now capturing 32% of total sales, far ahead of second place comedy at 20% according to the Producer To Producer Book, 2nd Edition. In recent years, the licensing and merchandising industry driven by animated television series targeted at children has performed beyond most industry expectations. An excellent case in point, the children’s craze, Pokemon, surpassed accumulated worldwide sales of $10.0 Billion by 2001. Licensing and Merchandising revenues are expected to exceed $100 Billion annually by the year 2010 fueled by such monster hits as Shrek 2 – $881 Million Dollars, Finding Nemo – $865 Million and The Incredibles – $624 Million to name just three.

The target market for children’s television and films is the 50 million plus 4 – 12 year old North American kids whose buying power for toys, games and puzzles was approximately U.S.$13.4 billion per year in the nineties and now in excess of $200 Billion a year. The secondary markets are Europe, Asia and the Pacific region where North American companies have traditionally experienced success with many movie driven properties.

 Kids buying power grew 12% over the 90’s and is expected to continue at a double digit growth rate well into the 2000’s. So dramatic was this growth of the Kids market that marketers dubbed the 90’s as the “Decade of the Child”.  In response to this phenomenon, more and more toys, clothes, food and entertainment products are being developed for this huge and growing market.  The companies involved in producing children’s live and animated productions have now identified this Kid’s market as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow and now team up with toy companies and other manufacturers to exploit this lucrative ancillary market with an unimaginable number of products ranging from downloadable clips for cell phones to video games to social networking websites. 

Computer generated films are now the driving force behind the enormous jump in sales of toys, electronic games and the multitude of other products aimed at the kid and tween market. items.

 What does the future hold in this new Golden Age of Animation? Producers, manufacturers, distributors and kids are always on the lookout for that next new product. What will that be? As usual, it’s anybody’s guess. Who would have thought that some years ago, adults would be fist fighting over something called Cabbage Patch Dolls? Whatever the next hit is, it will no doubt be spawned from the depths of a computer chip.

 The Author and Associates

Michael Trigg is CEO of You N Me Productions Corp, a Vancouver Canada entertainment company. You N Me Productions has joint ventured with Media Kitchen I.N. Teractive and Worlds Away Productions Ltd of New York to produce a new children’s website entitled Greanwold’s World.

Resources

Greanwold’s World www.greanwold.com  is the environment of Greanwold and his Minosaur friends, the newest children’s property in the kids international market place.

UK Patent Guide 2009

July 24th, 2009 at 12:41pm Under intellectual property

We’ve all seen and heard of patents, but how many people actually know what a patent does and what you can get a patent for? The simple answer to this question is that, although many people are aware of the function of a patent, surprisingly few people know anything more than that, even straightforward aspects such as what you can get a patent for. A patent is one of four main types of intellectual property, which is essentially any form of ‘original creation’ that can be bought or sold. The other three are trademarks, designs and copyright. Patents are used to protect new inventions and give the owner of the invention the legal right to prevent others from ‘making, using, importing or selling’ the invention unless they first obtain the permission of the owner. However, on rare occasion, a patent is not enough to stop other people from attempting to exploit the patented invention through importing, copying, manufacturing or selling the invention. In such cases, a patent would give the owner the legal right to take those exploiting the invention to the courts in order to claim damages against them, and, as a result, a patent can act as a deterrent to those who try to exploit inventions. Part of the way it does this is by detailing the invention very clearly so that the court would be able to see it had been copied. Patents cover many different aspects of an invention, such as how inventions work, what function they carry out, how they carry out that function, what the invention is made of, and how the invention is made. Patents allow the owner to sell the invention and to sell the intellectual property rights, and to license the invention to someone else whilst retaining the intellectual property rights. Additionally, a patent allows the owner to chat about the invention with other people so that they may start a business that is based around the invention. There are many reasons to patent an invention, and one of the foremost reasons is that of what will happen if you do not patent your invention. If you invent something and do not patent it, anyone can use, manufacture, and even sell your invention without first obtaining your permission. Although it is sometimes possible to keep an invention a secret, it is often impossible to do so if technology is on display as part of the invention. If you have invented something that you wish to patent, an important consideration to bear in mind is that you should not tell anyone about your invention before you apply to patent it, as this can cause your application to become invalid. There are, of course, exceptions to this, in that you can speak to – and it advisable to do so – solicitors, registered lawyers, or even a patent agent, as anything you tell them will be in confidence as it is legally privileged. Another thing to consider is that you cannot patent certain things, such as mathematical discoveries or artistic work, because they do not conform to the requirements of patent protection. Inventions must ‘relate to how something works, what it does, what it is made of, or how it is made’, it must be new, it must be an inventive step in the area it covers, and it must be capable of being either made or used in an industry. Before applying for a patent, it helps to get good, confidential advice from a professional, such as a solicitor. If you wish to find out more – before talking to a professional – about, for example, the requirements for patent protection it is best to go to the government website for its Intellectual Property office, where all guidelines on patents can be found. This article is free to republish provided the authors resource box below remains intact.

Big Money in Kid’s Properties

July 19th, 2009 at 06:43pm Under intellectual property

What is a Property? For most people the term “Property” generally brings to mind real estate or a belonging. In the world of entertainment or licensing and merchandising, a Property refers to a character or a group of characters. In other words, an Intellectual Property. Well known examples are Mickey Mouse as a single Property or the Teenage Ninja Turtles as a group Property.

Properties can be utilized or arise in a book, a comic book, as an image on a cup or can be the focus of a television program or can be utilized in a television commercial.

Billions of dollars have been generated since Mickey Mouse developed in the wonderful mind of Walt Disney and of course the Disney Corporation is the epitome of intellectual Property rights that all others aspire to.

What does a Property consist of? This is where matters become confusing. If you can imagine in your mind, a pizza pie that has been cut up into slices. Or, better still, take a sheet of paper and draw a pizza or a circle. Then, divide the circle into parts – let’s say sixteenths. Each one of those sixteen pieces represents a different part of the whole and each one of those pieces can be sold off or licensed, as is more the common practice.

The following are some of the more common categories that are licensed off as part of a Property; publishing, music, board games, electronic games, clothing, television, action figures, plush dolls, remote control toys, play sets, cards, greeting cards, educational products and so on.

Obviously, the more popular the Property, the more licensing fees are generated and the wider the range of products. A wonderful example of a Property that spun off from a first book is Harry Potter. I’m sure that when J.K. Rowling was slogging over her first book in a London cafe, she had no idea that Harry would become a world-wide phenomena spawning a huge array of children’s products.

If you have an idea for children that you think kids around the world will crave after, get started. The North American licensing and merchandising market totaled sales of over $60 Billion in 2006 and North American kids spent over $200 Billion in the same year. How to get started you ask? If you have an idea for a character and have limited artistic abilities, hire an illustrator or an art school student to take from your mind and transpose it onto paper. If you enjoy telling stories that kids like, even if your writing abilities are marginal, write them down.  The point is – get started. Don’t imagine you are going to be an overnight success. It takes hard work, long hours and a lot of money to become and overnight success, however, if you can develop your idea into something kids enjoy or better still want, you are halfway there.

The Author and Associates

Michael Trigg is CEO of You N Me Productions Corp, a Vancouver Canada entertainment company. You N Me Productions has joint ventured with Media Kitchen I.N.Teractive and Worlds Away Productions Ltd of New York.

Resources

Greanwold’s World www.greanwold.com  is the environment of Greanwold and his Minosaur friends, the newest children’s property in the kids international market place.

What Do You Think About The Concept Of Intellectual Property?

July 19th, 2009 at 04:25pm Under intellectual property

Do you think it works in the favour of the individual, or the society? Do you think it’s ultimately fair to reserve such kind of property? Do you think it is a new way of excercising economic monopoly?

Please I Need Some Help With An Essay Regarding Intellectual Property.?

July 19th, 2009 at 10:26am Under intellectual property

Using Examples from case laws and legislation, Explain why a business student would need a good knowledge of Intellectual Property.
An help would be very appreciated. Thank you!

A Diploma In Intellectual Property Rights For Science Graduates?

July 19th, 2009 at 04:26am Under intellectual property

hey i have completed a BSc chemistry and vocational biotechnology and wish to appear for the 2009 MBA entrances..since this year i would be doing nothing but preparing for the entrances i thought that i would take up a diploma in intellectual property rights which i have heard is pretty suited for science grads? i want to know how useful this course would be and if not suggested what other short time/ diploma courses could i look forward to,to avoid a one year gap which would be disastrous if i had to apply for an MBA college as i would be answerable to it

Does The Ordinary Individual Need A License For Intellectual Property Rights, Please?

July 18th, 2009 at 10:25pm Under intellectual property

will you be ripped off if you do not have a license for intellectual property rights? i only mean this question for individuals who may need this license, not for large corporations or other types of people who would actually know that they needed an intellectual properties rights license. and if they do need one what kind of company would be issuing the licenses for it?What kind of terms are included in such a license?And any other pertinent information you can provide about this subject (i.e. cost). thank you

Can I Be Sued For Violation Intellectual Property Rights?

July 18th, 2009 at 04:25pm Under intellectual property

This guys website had no saying of it being protected so I bought his program off his siteand i sold it on ebay. He is saying he has intellectual property rights, but in the package that I bought from him it is nowhere implied nor on his website that he has IP.
The package is information and links to public websites with a sales letter he wrote. Need help on this thanks.

In What Industries Is Intellectual Property Rights/law Important?

July 18th, 2009 at 10:26am Under intellectual property

I am doing a school paper that has to be about an industry where intellectual property rights/law is important. I’m looking to do a topic more interesting.. Something other than music or film. Got any ideas please??
By the way it has to be an industry that exists within Canada. Thanks

Why Is The Title To Real Porperty Permanent Whereas Some Intellectual Property Is Limited In The Time It Is?

July 18th, 2009 at 04:25am Under intellectual property

Why is the title to real porperty permanent whereas some intellectual property is limited in the time it is protected?