J M Barrie’s gift of the rights to Peter Pan has provided a significant source of income to Great Ormond Street Hospital ever since they were given to the hospital in 1929.
Copyright Designs & Patents Act
The copyright first expired in the UK (and the rest of Europe) in 1987, 50 years after Barrie’s death, but former Prime Minister Lord Callaghan successfully proposed an amendment to the Copyright Designs & Patents Act of 1988, giving Great Ormond Street Hospital the unique right to royalties from stage performances of Peter Pan (and any adaptation of the play) as well as from publications of the story of Peter Pan, in perpetuity.
Public domain
In 1996 copyright term was extended to 70 years after the author’s death throughout the European Union, which meant Peter Pan enjoyed revived copyright until 31 December 2007, after which it entered the public domain in Europe (except in Spain where the copyright will endure until the end of 2017, thanks to previous legislation).
The Act of 1988 will therefore prevail from now on in the UK so that the hospital will continue enjoying the benefit of Barrie’s gift in perpetuity.
US Copyright
Although the novel Peter Pan (also known as Peter and Wendy) is in the public domain in the US, the play (and stage adaptations) is in copyright there until 2023. This is because the novel was published in 1911, but the play itself was only published in 1928 so its copyright was extended by the new term of first date of publication + 95 years (set by the Sony Bono Copyright Extension Act of 1998 for works published between 1923 and 1977).
Royalties
This means that whenever a performance of Peter Pan is staged or a book published, a royalty (= a percentage of the ticket price or book price) is payable to Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity.
