A copyright statement is just that, nothing more. It appears on just about every book ever printed. But It doesn't mean I don't own the book -- it just means I can't legally copy it and sell it (which is why it is called a "copyright" after all). If I own a copyrighted book I can put it up for auction on eBay any time I want and the publisher of the book -- the owner of the copyright -- can't say boo about it. Same goes for the Oscar (unless, like Judy Garland, they have signed one of those contracts guaranteeing that the Academy has the right to buy it back for $1 buck if the owner doesn't want to keep it anymore. That's different. If you sign one of those contracts, then you have to let the Academy buy it back for a buck if you don't want it anymore).
But even that doesn't apply to pre-1949 Oscars which had no serial numbers on them. If Tom's Oscar is pre-1949 (it has no serial numbers), then the Academy has no legal claim on it. I wonder, these days, does everyone who receives an Oscar have to sign one of those buy-back contracts? What if they don't sign? Does that mean the Academy will not award them their Oscar even if it turns out they have won one on Awards Night (theoretically no one knows who wins until the envelope is opened on stage). If the Academy does not make everyone sign a buy-back, then the Academy is clearly giving the statue to the winner, live, on television, in front of hundreds of millions of people. That's a lot of witnesses -- and they all saw the statues given to the winners tonight. Being given something, and accepting it, means you now own it and you can do whatever you want with it -- display it or auction it off. -- JR ----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Halegua Comic Art" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Sunday, March 05, 2006 22:52 Subject: Re: [MOPO] Oscar On Antiques Roadshow >ACADEMY AWARD(S)®, OSCAR(S)®, OSCAR NIGHT® and >OSCAR® statuette design mark are the registered >trademarks and service marks, and the OSCAR® >statuette the copyrighted property, of the >Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences you forget the ® behind Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences oops.. I mean Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences ® Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content. Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
