Wicked: something wonderful is happening in the world of intellectual property
By Abril Neiman
November 2024 saw the world premiere of Wicked, the musical film starring pop star Ariana Grande and, Tony and Grammy Award winner Cynthia Erivo, which ran for months and grossed more than $700 million worldwide. And that was only the first half of the story… We are six months away from getting the sequel to this masterpiece.
There are many things to praise about this production, from the image, the music, the artists, the costumes and so on. But in this article, I would like to highlight the fundamental role that intellectual property played in the success of the film.
For example, one might wonder why a musical set in the world of Oz does not include one of the most popular songs of all time, created for the 1939 film: the The Wizard of Oz. All of this can be explained by understanding the world of copyright.
For many, Wicked will simply be a parallel story to The Wizard of Oz, but in reality there is a long yellow road of inspiration that led to this work, with copyrights playing the leading role.
The long chain of inspiration begins in 1900 with the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. It is here that this wonderful universe is created, with its iconic characters and the plot that introduces us to Dorothy, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Good Witch of the South, the Brainless Scarecrow, the Heartless Tin Man and the Courageless Lion. Oh, and of course, the Wizard of Oz himself.
All this passed into the public domain in 1956. What does this mean? That anyone can explore this universe, and exploit it without any contract with the creator or his heirs, as long as the moral rights of the author are respected, the authorship is acknowledged and the integrity of the work is not violated.
However, a few years earlier, in 1939, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production company obtained the rights to the book and released in theaters the movie that broke generational barriers and is still known today as a classic, just like its song “Somewhere over the rainbow”. The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, although inspired by the book using the original plot, introduced to the entertainment world certain elements that turned out to be transcendental for the image of Oz. In addition to the aforementioned song, we can also talk about the aesthetics with which the world visualizes the Oz universe and its characters, such as the ruby shoes that, in the book, were simply silver.
It is relevant to keep in mind which aspects of the film belong to the rights of the original book -which since 1956 have passed into the public domain-, and which are specific to the film, as these elements are still protected by copyright. For example, this is the only way to understand why in the movie Wicked the shoes are silver, and not rubies.
56 years later comes Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, a novel written by Gregory Maguire inspired by the work already in the public domain that gave rise to Oz. In this opportunity, the author rereads and reinterprets the story to tell it this time from the point of view of another character as protagonist: Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West.
New elements emerge from this novel, such as characters, now also copyrighted by Maguire. In 2003, Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman decided to adapt Maguire’s work to the theater, particularly to a musical, obtaining a license for the rights to the original book.
Thus was born the Broadway musical Wicked, which was inspired by a novel, which was inspired by a film, which was inspired by a book, and which also obtained its own copyright on the creative elements of the book. But the story doesn’t end there.
Having obtained a licence to use Maguire’s work and reinvent it as a Broadway musical, the creators of the musical became co-owners of new rights in the musical as a derivative work, protecting the music, script and scenery as independent copyrights.
Here comes another branch of the wonderful world of IP: WICKED becomes a registered trademark to protect its commercial identity. Since 2005, WICKED has been registered as a trademark in the United States in Classes 9, 16, 18, 21, 25, 28 and 41 to protect products such as digital content (DVDs and CDs), printed publications, apparel, toys, stuffed animals and all types of merchandising, as well as entertainment services, theatre and film production: the musical has become a global franchise with productions in multiple jurisdictions around the world.
Just over a decade later, Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the musical for a film adaptation, with Schwartz and Holzman involved in adapting the screenplay, but this time Maguire, while retaining credit as the original writer, was not directly involved in the adaptation.
After a few years of preparation and securing music and trademark rights, interrupted by the pandemic, production and casting began on the WICKED film, the first part of which was released in November 2024. As you can imagine at this point, new copyrights arose from this film…
Just six months after its premiere, it is now a global phenomenon that has managed to create its own identity, thanks to the great efforts made to protect its commercial image and to constant marketing and branding. Not only is the WICKED trademark registered, but the public also recognises the visual identity of the musical as a non-traditional brand, based on a particular palette of green, black and pink colours, aesthetics and logos that distinguish this universe from the Oz created by Baum and visually represented in 1939. More than a musical or a film, Wicked became a commercial and cultural icon.
In short, this musical film, which will remain a classic in history, has a heritage of more than 100 years of inspiration. Baum probably never imagined that a century after the publication of his book, one of the most famous pop artists would play the Good Witch of the South, Glinda, in one of the highest grossing musical films in cinema history, with a focus on the world of Oz, let alone that the story would move away from Dorothy to present a beautiful story between the characters of Elphaba and Glinda. So it is clear that copyrights are vital to protect any creation that comes from the effort, dedication and devotion of its creators, but they are also a fundamental part of the culture and inspiration of future generations.
This is the art of creating and inspiring.
For further information please contact aneiman@ojambf.com
