# What's the deal with the US rights to Peter Pan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 7, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025 "2010-01-07T13:56:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/1 "2010-01-07T13:56:26Z")
Did I hear that it fell into public domain and only the English rights go to the hospital that Barrie left them to? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/2 "2010-01-07T14:57:38Z")
According to the [official website](http://www.gosh.org/peterpan/copyright/publishing/) of the Great Ormond Street Hospital, to whom J.M. Barrie gave the rights to the Peter Pan story, the story of Peter Pan is in the public domain both in the United States and the United Kingdom, while the stage adaptation is still copyrighted in the US, but not in the UK. GOSH is still entitled to a royalty on any purchased publication or stage performance of the Peter Pan story in perpetuity under the current British copyright law, established 1988 ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/3 "2010-01-07T15:10:38Z")
Strange. What’s to keep people from using the characters all over the place, then? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/4 "2010-01-07T16:00:41Z")
Nothing, particularly. But the trouble in America would be that we think of “Peter Pan” as being the boyish Disney character, and any attempt to use some other visage would probably be doomed to death. And, of course, the DISNEY version is still very much under copyright protection, etc., etc. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/5 "2010-01-07T16:07:58Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Nothing, particularly. But the trouble in America would be that we think of “Peter Pan” as being the boyish Disney character, and any attempt to use some other visage would probably be doomed to death. And, of course, the DISNEY version is still very much under copyright protection, etc., etc. And given the history of Disney, Congress and American copyright law, will be for at least the foreseeable future and likely well beyond… ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/6 "2010-01-07T16:23:31Z")
I don’t know about that. Fox produced a “Peter Pan and the Pirates” cartoon in the 1990s, and there doesn’t seem to have been any backlash from that. I also remember seeing an anime _Peter Pan_ cartoon series, though it wasn’t very good. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/7 "2010-01-07T16:49:30Z")
> [@JThunder](#): > > I don’t know about that. Fox produced a “Peter Pan and the Pirates” cartoon in the 1990s, and there doesn’t seem to have been any backlash from that. I also remember seeing an anime _Peter Pan_ cartoon series, though it wasn’t very good. As was mentioned upthread, the story and the characters are in the public domain, in general. It’s specifically the Disney film that is and probably always will be under copyright, the way copyright law is going. Apparently, you can publish a Peter Pan book or a Peter Pan-inspired book (maybe a fantasy retelling of the story, like Mercedes Lackey’s 500 Kingdoms series) as long as you use your own character models and don’t follow the Disney movie’s specific plot and dialogue too closely. In other words, Peter Pan generic story and characters are okay. Peter Pan specific Disney film plot and character models (Marilyn Monroe Tinkerbell, [Charles II](http://www.vahistorical.org/collecting/answer3.htm) Captain Hook, Nana the dog with actual nanny/maid’s cap) not good. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/8 "2010-01-07T17:57:29Z")
Others have certainly made use of the characters and setting already: [http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Starcatchers-Ridley-Pearson/dp/0786854456/ref=sr\_1\_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262886985&sr=1-1](http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Starcatchers-Ridley-Pearson/dp/0786854456/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262886985&sr=1-1) ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/9 "2010-01-07T21:33:34Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Others have certainly made use of the characters and setting already: [Amazon.com: Peter and the Starcatchers: 9780786854455: Pearson, Ridley, Barry, Dave, Call, Greg: Books](http://www.amazon.com/Peter-Starcatchers-Ridley-Pearson/dp/0786854456/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262886985&sr=1-1) This book (and its follow-ups) were published by Disney, and I believe there’s a disclaimer in the book that says it can’t be sold in the European Union- at the time it was published, Peter Pan was still protected under copyright in the UK. (The Ormond Street Hospital sued Disney over the book, although I don’t know what the result was.) Disney has always treated their version of Peter Pan as an independent property from the Ormond Street-protected version (and of course Disney’s Tinkerbell has been used as a mascot for the company for years), which got them into a few legal disputes with Ormond Street. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/10 "2010-01-08T05:22:13Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > According to the [official website](http://www.gosh.org/peterpan/copyright/publishing/) of the Great Ormond Street Hospital, to whom J.M. Barrie gave the rights to the Peter Pan story, the story of Peter Pan is in the public domain both in the United States and the United Kingdom, while the stage adaptation is still copyrighted in the US, but not in the UK. GOSH is still entitled to a royalty on any purchased publication or stage performance of the Peter Pan story in perpetuity under the current British copyright law, established 1988 If GOSH is entitled to a royalty, then how is that considered public domain? They must use that term differently in the UK or something. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/11 "2010-01-08T06:03:15Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > As was mentioned upthread, the story and the characters are in the public domain, in general. It’s specifically the Disney film that is and probably always will be under copyright… Sorry; I thought you were suggesting that fear of the Disney Corporation would prevent others from capitalizing on the Peter Pan story. I do agree that only the Disney version would be protected by their copyright (and more importantly, their trademark). ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2010, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-deal-with-the-us-rights-to-peter-pan/524025/12 "2010-01-08T07:08:41Z")
> [@Jonathan\_Chance](#): > > Strange. What’s to keep people from using the characters all over the place, then? A crocodile. A very patient crocodile. tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock tick-tock _tick-tock…_ and maybe [this](http://pixyland.org/peterpan/)guy