DC Comics is responding to the statement of the creator of the universe “Fables” (in which the actions of The Wolf Among US) Bill Willingham that he releases the comic into a public property after disagreement with the publisher about the contract disputes, fears about the fact that how the comic book was processed, and its alleged lack of participation in projects. With the participation of a franchise.
The DC statement about a difficult situation says that Fables and its story, characters and all its elements belong to DC and therefore are subject to protection of the copyright law. The statement refutes Willingham’s allegations that the Fables universe is now in a public domain, and promise that DC will take the necessary legal measures if their intellectual property is used for not their purpose.
The official statement of DC reads:
“Comics and graphic novels“ Fables ”, published by DC, as well as plot lines, characters and elements in them belong to DC and are protected by the laws on the copyright of the United States and the whole world in accordance with applicable law and are not in public property. DC reserves all rights and takes such actions that DC will consider the necessary or appropriate to protect their intellectual property rights ”.
Earlier this week, Bill Willingham published a shocking letter in which he spoke about his intention to make “Fables” free for public use after he said that DC Comics has violated his contract agreements regarding this universe and evades the payment of fees to him. Instead of pursuing DC through what would probably be a long legal weight for a 67-year-old writer, he chose a more powerful option, saying that if he could not work with this universe because of his problems with DC, Then the Fables franchise is now in a public property, and fans and other authors can now use the elements of this universe and characters from the comic book, not worrying about copyright laws.
Since Willingham claims that Fables is now in the public domain, and DC Comics states that it is ready to take the necessary legal steps to protect their intellectual property rights to the comic book, the situation is likely to be even more confusing. Although Willingham wanted to avoid a legal drama with the publisher if DC Comics ultimately begins to pursue those who use Fables in their own materials, he may not have another choice but to challenge the ownership of the comic through the forensic system.