Fables creator places Wolf Among Us universe in public domain amid clash with DC over Telltale adaptation - eviltoast
  • simple@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Holy cow, that’s huge. Fables is a very well-beloved universe, good on him for giving it to the public. I hope this opens the door for an adaptation of the comics. Alan Moore would be proud.

  • Hubi@feddit.de
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    1 year ago

    Wow, pretty radical, but what a cool move. I’m sure it’ll be a good thing for the fans of the games and universe in the long run.

    • pjhenry1216@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      It’s a shame that it’s even considered “radical” since it’s basically a copyright holder upholding their end of the bargain in the promise behind the origin of copyright. To incentivize creative content, a creator is given sole ability to monetize it for a fixed period of time. In return for that protection, the public gets it at the end of the term. Today’s copyright is so far off course that it defeats the intent. There’s no incentive to create anything new if you can keep milking existing content. And the public never gets a return for offering that protection.

      • mindbleach@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Companies expect to sell something a million times and still own it.

        Nah, guys. Culture belongs to its audience. It’s ours. We bought it. That’s what the money was for.

    • PM_ME_FEET_PICS@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      Pretty radical for a dude who throws his conservative believes into everything?

      The author of Fables is very conservative in his political beliefs. He has written anti-abortion and pro-Isreal material into the Fables comics themselves.

      • gk99@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I mean, yeah, considering “conservatives” generally only seem to care about taking rights away from others. Giving back is pretty radical of them.

  • 520@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    Is there any where we can donate to the guy or buy something directly from him?

    I really enjoyed his works, being introduced to them by the Telltale game. It sucks he hasn’t been paid properly.

    • kae@lemmy.ca
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      1 year ago

      That’s not how this works.

      You’re free to create stories, video, of your own video game in the universe. If you chose to make that public domain and give it away for free, then good on you.

      Others can create freely in this universe with their own expression, which they could charge for.

      Much like how there are movies about Cinderella or Red Riding Hood which are under copyright, but the base story itself is in the public domain and free to use.

      • *Tagger*@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Right, that makes sense! Thanks!

        What an awesome thing for him to do but I can’t pretend I’m not slightly disappointed to have a huge series of free comics to dive into.

        • Clay_pidgin@sh.itjust.works
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          1 year ago

          I recommend the Overdrive app. sign up (in the app, even!) for a library card (doesn’t necessarily need to be to your local library) and start checking the books out!

          • bpm@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Always worth checking if there’s more libraries you’re eligible for, for the best selection - I’ve got a card through my local library, one from the next town over (I just need to visit once a year to renew), and a town in California (Sunnyvale) that gives library accounts to anyone who applies. Some libraries will do digital-only accounts for like $20/Year, so that could be worth looking into if your local library doesn’t support Overdrive/Libby.

          • gabereal@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            incorrect.

            As of now, 15 September 2023, the comic book property called Fables, including all related Fables spin-offs and characters, is now in the public domain. What was once wholly owned by Bill Willingham is now owned by everyone, for all time.

    • 520@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      You’re misunderstanding what’s happened.

      The author has relinquished his copyright on the Fables universe. Every work based on it has its own copyright, however.

      So while you can make your own stories in the Fables universe, it doesn’t mean that things like The Wolf Among Us game from Telltale have had their copyrights affected in any way.