Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Felix!

Mr. Katzenberg thinks he's a keeper.

Jeffrey Katzenberg said his company will turn the feline cartoon into “one of the most desired fashion brands in the world.”

DreamWorks Animation has acquired all rights to Felix the Cat, the feline cartoon from the silent film era, DWA CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg said during a speech at the Licensing Expo in Las Vegas.

A popular cartoon throughout the 1920s, Felix first appeared in film shorts and a comic strip. He resurfaced in various TV shows and movies since the introduction of sound, and ranks as one of the greatest cartoon characters of all-time. ...

And oldie but a goodie ...

And I'm sure just because the character sprang to life in 1923 as a comic strip character, cartoon character, and then a beloved trade-mark, DWA has big plans for the kitty.

I always wonder about copyright protection going on and on, but a friend in the biz confides that the courts are almost always protective of rights holders, and trade-marks are pretty much forever, aren't they? No doubt DWA attorneys vetted Felix's commercial longevity, copryight-wise, before the deal was finalized.

So congratulations to DreamWorks Animation on its acquisition of Felix. Now go out and exploit the new acquisition. America will expect nothing less.

1 comments:

Chris Sobieniak said...

I suppose, but hearing of it as simply a 'brand' bugs me a bit. It's more re-purposing said character into a manner unlike the original comics, cartoons and others that came before. No doubt we've seen this happen before, some are still around while others die out (I don't think Buster Brown Shoes still exist).

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