The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum was published in 1899 and is now public domain. Warner Bros, however, who owns the 1939 film version that we all know the story from, was awarded “character protection” by judges at the 8th Circuit last year and the studio is now exhausting legal possibilities to own as much of the storys branding as possible.
Copyright potentially represents one arrow in the studio’s quiver. But what about trademark?
In the past year, Warners has been one of the most aggressive filers of oppositions at the USPTO’s Trademark Trial & Appeal Board. Especially over The Wizard of Oz.
For instance, the company has gone after potential merchandise associated with Dorothy of Oz, a $60 million-budgeted animation film scheduled to be released later this year by Summertime Entertainment.Warners also has attacked registrations on a series of neuroscience books entitled “If I Only Had A Brain,” a restaurant called “Wicked ‘Wiches Wickedly Delicious Sandwiches,” a clothing line known as “Wizard of Azz,” Halloween costumes under the brand name “Wicked of Oz,” and dozens of other Oz-related marks.
One pending case at the TTAB is especially enlightening.
It concerns wines being marketed in the state of Kansas. Among them are “Dorothy of Kansas and Toto Wine,” “Ruby Slippers Wine,” “Broomstick Wine,” “The Lion’s Courage,” and “Flying Monkey Wine.”Warners is objecting, of course.
Meanwhile, Disney is working on their own version to be directed by Sam Raimi and star James Franco. Their version will be titled Oz, the Great and Powerful.
Walt Disney himself had always wanted to make a film based on the Oz stories. In 1954, when the movie rights to various Oz books became available, Walt purchased them. Soon, scripts were written for a movie in “Widescreen, color, the works..” But for some reason it was never made.
Think of how Disney history and Wizard of Oz history would both be different today, had a film been produced at the time…
