You being a Disney fan, you probably know all about the SFWA. Or maybe not. The Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America is an organization of, well, writers of sci-fi and fantasy. You may have heard about their annual Nebula awards in the past. They also offer legal services to their members.
The organization had to step up over the last year to address a grievance between author Alan Dean Foster and the publisher of some of his books: Disney. Foster has written many novels over the years, but one of his biggest impacts has been in the novelization game, turning movies into books. He wrote the novelization of the original Star Wars and then the very first Star Wars sequel: Splinter of the Mind's Eye. He also wrote versions of the first three Alien films.
All of these books have been in circulation for quite some time, earning the author some tidy royalty checks over the years. Until Disney, that is.
When Disney purchased Fox last year, they inherited its publishing portfolio as well. Foster alleges that rather than honor his contract with Fox, Disney has refused to pay a dime or even sit down to discuss renegotiation. They will not discuss the contract until the 74-year-old author signs a non-disclosure agreement, a point that Foster and his legal team resent
Foster sent a letter to the media giant recently and it was posted on the SFWA website with a bit of commentary. It is interesting to see inside this side of a media business. Most of the time, these negotiations are civil and quiet. Behind the scenes, all parties discuss their grievances and find resolution. In this case, Foster felt forced to get dirty. His letter concludes with a little dig at the company. The quote: "The way you do anything is the way you do everything." The quotee: Bob Iger.
The issue seems to be that Disney is unwilling to honor a contract set up by a previous organization. The legal debate is centered around whether Foster owns the copyright on any of the books he wrote under license to another company. He may be the author of Star Wars as an official novelization, but he does not own the property as a whole. While we don't know their official stance, Disney may be trying to say that they own the 21st Century Fox properties and all related uses of those copyrights. Foster may have no legs to stand on, as his contract as a licensee was sold to a company that does not need to acknowledge it.
If you want to see more on this story, check out the main article on SFWA's blog. If you want to get confused by armchair and maybe-not-so-armchair lawyering, check out the comments. If you just want to be angry on Twitter, use the hashtag #DisneyMustPay. If you want more Jeremy rants, stay tuned to EarzUp: In Depth! I know I want to hear his take on the latest arrest at Walt Disney World.
Don't you?
Photo from SFWA website