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Originally posted by: rogue_apologist
In either case, Intellectual property belongs to the owner and is not completed until the artist says its completed. period.
I hate it when people use the word intellectual property without fully understanding it. Intellectual property is a legal fiction; it is not 'property' in the same sense that a house, a book or a CD is property. It is a bundle of rights that are given to a piece of art or an invention or a process, and like any other bundle, can be split into moral rights and legal rights. Moral rights are what the artist retains (unless he signs them away, at which point they become irretrievable) and legal rights are things like licencing and sale of the artwork. I will state yet again that Lucas is lucky because he retained both sets of rights (since he owns Lucasfilm). Moral rights are not afforded the same protection in the US that they are in other jurisdictions, so it was imperative that he retain those rights if he ever wanted to manipulate or have any control over the Star Wars films. An artist may not think a film is completed, but if it has been sold to a studio, then that artist has to abide by what the studio says, since it is the legal owner of the film. For examples I point to Brazil, 54, The Magnificent Ambersons or any other film with a checkered history.
One more time, Lucas enjoys a unique position, one even more powerful than final cut.