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I have been reading some of the posts other places about the Big Moulage being made over the Don Knotts statue and how "they" have thwarted the plans to build a tasteful memorial to Don.

It reminds me of my own attempt years ago to create a Christian music calendar as a gift for my advertisers, using some of the Christian artists I was working closely with at the time. I first approached the artists and got their permission to use their likeness. I then approached their record companies and got their permission, so I proceeded ahead, invested my time and money, and was about to print when I was contacted by the manager of the least well-known artist I had selected. This manager threw a hissy fit that I hadn't also asked for HIS permission. I apologized and asked for his permission, but he said he would have to think about it. He asked who else had agreed to be in the calendar and I told him. I told him if it was a problem, I would find someone else to use. He then called EVERY manager of EVERY artist I had mentioned to him and talked about 1/3 of them into calling me. The managers all felt they also had some say in licensing the images, beyond what the artist and the record company granted. I doubt this is true, but what was I going to do - make them all angry? So I had to cancel the calendar.

Copyright, licensing, trade marks, etc. - it is all a very touchy and convoluted business. So many people own parts of the rights to any celebrity.

I sent photos from a recent event to one Mayberry celeb who requested them. No sooner had I sent them, then she contacted me wanting replacements as "someone" had taken hers. So I told her to be sure whoever that "someone" was knew those photos were by ChristianActivities.com and they were not available to publish elsewhere without permission. When I sent her the replacements, I placed a copyright notice on the back of each one. Why? Sure, they are HER image... but they are MY PHOTOS! I pay my fees, my hotel bills, my gas bills and take time off from work to travel, take the pictures, pay for the film and developing all hoping to drive a little traffic to my website. If those photos I took show up elsewhere without proper credit, I not
only loose the credit, but that other person MAY get PAID for using MY PHOTOS! So you can see, I am also very concerned with protecting my own photos and words, and I copyright everything I do.

All this is to say, it is certainly a terrible shame that the Don Knotts statue got scrapped... for now, but not surprising when you have watched copyrighting, trade marking, and licensing as closely as I have. And... once everyone's egos are stroked and they all get the credit for their various roles, it is possible they WILL grant permission for the statue at some future date. I just hope by then the key players are not as burned out as I was when I was trying to do my little calendar way back when...

I don't have an inside track on this Mayberry, other than the very long post above. I imagine it boils down to CBS, the Knotts' estate, and maybe even Andy owning rights to the Mayberry characters and images. And the thing is... if the proper entities DON'T pitch a fit to protect these rights, they LOOSE the rights.

Anyone who owns any part of the Don Knotts image and the Barney Fife character actually has a duty to fight against anything that might be an infringement. If they let something slide, they loose legal ground in fighting any future claims. Just letting things slip a little causes something to fall into the "public domain" category -- and then NO ONE has any rights to claim it. It is not just $$$, although that is a great part of it. It is also the right to protect HOW something is depicted.

If you want another l-o-n-g tale, let me tell you about the Barbie moulage of the 90s. Mattel had been a little lax about Barbie. Popular songs were beginning to use Barbie in a negative way. Lots of websites used the Barbie name, and some were not nice. Mexico makes many bootleg Barbies using the Barbie mold to make cheap knock offs.

Mattel obviously wanted to stop the bootleggers to make the money, but they also discovered two more things. 1. Barbie - the name and the image, were in immediate danger of falling into public domain because Mattel had always let things go. 1. The Barbie name and image were being used in ways not in keeping with a child-friendly toy company.

in the mid 90s, Mattel clamped down. Owners of ANY website that used the name "Barbie" anywhere in the name were sent letters from Mattel's legal departments threatening legal action if they didn't remove the name Barbie from their site. Doll stores and other doll businesses were forced to remove Barbie from their store names. Record companies were issued letters demanding songs sing the name Barbie be removed from albums or hefty fines were charged. Any Barbie clubs had to remove the name Barbie from the club name although if they went through Mattel to charter their clubs, they could add "a Barbie(R) Doll Club to their cards, t-shirts, etc.

A couple of my first posts on other Mayberry lists were about a similar situation... wish I could remember what it was.... Anyway, something similar was going on and I pointed out it looked like a potential copyright violation. People got MAD at ME for simply pointing out what I saw as a potential future problem creating and marketing items with the images and words of the Mayberry characters without going through the proper channels. I was told that copyrighting wasn't the Mayberry way.

At another point, people started taking a picture I took of Don Knotts and posting it around on other sites. I pointed out that the photo was by ChristianActivities.com and asked that people ask me and link to the site or credit the site and not just lift it. One guy started posting the next to each of his comments, trying to mock the idea that some things having to do with Mayberry were actually copyrighted. But, the same thing holds true for ME! If I post that my pictures are copyrighted and then DON'T follow up every time I see someone lift them... I could loose the right to my own photos. That is how copyright and trademark work. The owner has the obligation to follow up and enfore the copyright or he/she looses it.

Remembering Don Knotts

Ooh, good question! I am sure Mailman or one of our members will know that one and post it here for you!