From Mike Masnick today in TechDirt
from the don't-fuck-with-the-mouse dept
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DeSantis May Be Learning What The Copyright World Has Always Known: Disney’s Lawyers Don’t Fuck Around
" We’ve already covered how Florida man Governor Ron DeSantis flipped out that Disney, the largest employer in his state, offered some mild criticism over one of his unconstitutional censorship bills, and decided to retaliate by (1) removing the stupid questionable “theme park exemption” his office had directly worked with Disney to insert into his unconstitutional
social media bill and (2) move to take control over the special board
that that had been set up decades ago, giving Disney effective control
over everything around Disney World...
But, in a move that will surprise absolutely no one who has been following Disney’s legal shenanigans for decades (i.e., anyone who follows copyright…), Disney’s lawyers don’t fuck around.
Earlier this week it came out that right before the handover in power, the old (Disney controlled) board effectively voted to strip itself of nearly all of its power… and to give it to Disney, effectively forever.
I mean, it’s evil, but also somewhat brilliant in its audacity.
As Joe Patrice, over at Above the Law, notes, Disney’s lawyers are better than Ron DeSantis’ lawyers. And, part of it is in the way that they tried to make this transfer of power last: they say it will be “effective in perpetuity.”
But! One of those legal terms that gets thrown here and there more for being “legalistic sounding” rather than something that actually comes up all that often is the “rule against perpetuities” which is pretty much what it says on the tin: says you can’t create a perpetual interest in property that outlives anyone living at the time of the deal. Wikipedia’s summary is actually pretty good here:
The rule against perpetuities is a legal rule in the common law that prevents people from using legal instruments (usually a deed or a will) to exert control over the ownership of private property for a time long beyond the lives of people living at the time the instrument was written. Specifically, the rule forbids a person from creating future interests (traditionally contingent remainders and executory interests) in property that would vest beyond 21 years after the lifetimes of those living at the time of creation of the interest, often expressed as a “life in being plus twenty-one years”. In essence, the rule prevents a person from putting qualifications and criteria in a deed or a will that would continue to affect the ownership of property long after he or she has died, a concept often referred to as control by the “dead hand” or “mortmain“.
The new agreement Disney cooked up more or less first tries to ignore
that, but then says that if it comes up, the deal basically lasts right
up until the latest date possible under the rule of perpetuities...
There are no winners here, only assholes and losers.
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But, it’s pretty rich to see DeSantis lose his mind over being outplayed like this.
Of course, this isn’t over yet.
DeSantis’ lackey, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is already demanding records from the February 8th meeting where all this went down with no one noticing.
We have no love for Disney over here at Techdirt. The company has long been terrible and problematic, in part because of it’s ridiculously aggressive lawyering. This really seems like one of those situations where it would be nice if both of them could lose in the most embarrassing manner possible.
Still, all this makes me wonder what kind of bullshit Disney’s lawyers are going to pull on December 31st as the clock ticks down to Mickey Mouse entering the public domain…
Filed Under: florida, king charles, retaliation, ron desantis, rule against perpetuities
Companies: disney, reedy creek
This comment is new since your last visit.
Anonymous Coward says: I am legitimately speechless. Flumoxxed, staring jaw agape in surprise.
Mickey finally did more than just kick Heartless butt.
He gone and secured his own damn Kingdom from actual invaders. Without even so much as firing a shot.
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