I really thought there were more videos where I’ve talked about copyright, creative commons, and other things, but darned if I can find more than 2 right now. If I find more, I’ll add them to the playlist. (I found a few more.)
One thing I didn’t mention is that if you’re copying or even inspired by someone else’s work, you’re never completely “safe”. Having a legal precedent doesn’t mean that they can’t sue you. If a multinational corporation has lawyers sitting around waiting for something to do, they can take you to court, regardless of precedent. They don’t have to think they’re going to win, they just have to think they can out last you in court while keeping the bad PR to a minimum.
But, having a solid precedent can definitely help in convincing a lawyer to help defend you.
I still have a few questions about the original claim. Like if he actually thinks Disney owes him for his work, why isn’t he lawyering up? And the reason, I suspect, is because he knows he doesn’t have a case. He renovated the house of mouse for them, and they don’t have to thank him for it. So he’s taking to the PR, and telling a story about the little gut getting screwed by the big bad mouse, and he’s weaving a narrative that Disney is backing down. Is that the case? And if so, is that an admission of guilt on their part, or just an attempt to dodge bad PR? Because even if his original model wasn’t stolen, no one is going to side with the media empire that absorbs their enemies, conquers lands, and raises literal castles on them. (Credit to MovieBob for that line.) And he’s getting a ton of free press, showing off his portfolio right along side is righteous indignation.
Though, I will say, while he might not be taken to court for what he’s done, he might get taken to court for what he’s saying. There’s some slanderous statements about some specific people who work at Disney in those videos.
Personally, I hope that Disney did use his model, and that they found it on Thingiverse. Because that’s the scenario that maybe works out best for the rest of us.
My videos of late have been me pushing the production value, trying to gain a wider appeal, putting a lot more effort into the presentation and planning, and being punished in the metrics for my efforts. My last couple videos have severely, disappointingly, frustratingly, dishearteningly under performed. And nothing I do seems to help. I should really just do more videos like this one. Banging out a video in one night (albeit a pretty long night. I’m up way to late as I type this). One shot, perhaps a few takes, but by the end not me killing myself for a few hundred views. Maybe if I can stop trying too hard I can make more videos than once every few weeks or so.
