Themed Attraction.com

[XenoKid237]

Is this considered copying Disneyland for having sections like a western themed section or a space future section. I think you get the idea. Is that considered copyright to Disney in anyway?? and is it illegal or copyright to base ride ideas off of defunct/removed attractions from Disneyland? Just want to know for my own knowledge. [/list]

[wokcreative]

Copyright is specifically for print or publishing. License rights cover more and are usually involved in merchandising. Patents are involved in new inventions (mechanical, technology...). Ideas themselves may fall under some of these and other categories. Titles are not usually covered under much of anything - which is why there have been movies, TV shows... with the same name over the years.
Themed entertainment usually involves more creative people, who try to come up with original ideas...
Whole theme parks have been called Fantasyland or Adventureland...
There will always be people that just rip off the ideas of others. Disney keeps themselves covered in many ways - registering web site names under many possibilities, licensing, copyrights, patents, lots of attorneys... It usually isn't wise to take them on, though many try.

Kind of a loaded question with many parts to it really. This just scratches the surface.

[XenoKid237]

So even naming your theme park something like Discovery Land or Tomorrowland or the other "Lands" is under a copyrgiht with Disneyland and will be considered copying Disney??

And what about extinct/removed attractions from Disney?? If someone has a ride based off of a extinct ride from Disneyland. It will be considered copying Disney and Disney will take action for that?

I want to know because there are some attractions I have seen remind me of Disneyland rides.

Like say someone has a theme park and has a Matterhorn Bobsleigh like ride. or a Big Thunder Railroad like ride?? Will that be considered copying and will Disney take legal action?? Sorry if my first post was very vague sounding.

[wokcreative]

Something related and interesting:

http://www.imagineeringdisney.com/blog/2010/10/29/if-this-doesnt-scare-you.html

[Holly]

I am not sure what the answer to this is. Does it happen? Yes:
http://www.japanprobe.com/2007/05/02/disneyland-in-china/

Does it appear that Disney is trying to figure out what international copyright and trademark rules apply and possibly taking legal action? Yes.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beijing_Shijingshan_Amusement_Park

There are a small number of rides that you could argue were based on precedents set in the 1900s for those types of rides (ex. the carousel and perhaps the Matterhorn which appears to be based on the old "scenic railway" rides). But it could be risky to copy rides that are more iconic to the Disney parks.

I would say that it isn't worth it, simply because of the risk of litigation. With the effort that it takes to make a good copy, you could probably make a good original ride. Even if a ride is extinct, I would think that it is still their intellectual propoerty because it was their idea... and they could technically bring the rides back if they wanted (Captain EO was extinct, but it just returned to several parks). To really answer the question, you would need a lawyer who know all of the law surrounding intellectual property and copyright...and hope that he really knows what he is doing! Anything that we say here is just a guess since none of use are copyright lawyers, and the copyright laws are quite extensive (as well as being constantly revised)...

[XenoKid237]

Thank you for your help!!