Disney just purchased fox: How does this effect my company of origin?

Written by Evamore Alez and Madame Bloor. Edited by Linying Loach

Date: May 11th, 2019

As just about every toon has heard by now, Disney has purchased Fox. The most significant repercussions of this merger will befall those from Bluesky studios, though they aren’t the only toons that might face this issue. We here at TATV would like to give you a bit of a refresher on both the origins of the company of origin system in general and Disney’s company of origin system specifically.

What IS A COMPANY OF ORIGIN?

A company of origin is the most common toon equivalent of citizenship. It is toon societies’ way of conceptualizing who owns us as intellectual property and by extension, who governs your rights and career options.

(Some countries handle toon personhood differently, but, because of our audience, we’re focusing on the good ol’ fashioned ‘Merican way of categorizing toons.)

Where did it Come from?

The system of company of origin was created to track which companies owned the first generation of born toons. In the 40s and 50s, various IP disputes were caused by one company trying to hire the children of the toons from another company. A company would argue that, because they drew that toon’s parents, they were owed a cut of whatever money they planned on paying the child with.

In one final push to resolve the issue in the favor of toons, the question of whether toons qualify for birthright citizenship was brought to the judicial system. Despite several appeals, all the way up to the Supreme Court, the original decision held, and toons were disqualified from birthright citizenship on account of not being human.

To save all companies involved from paying further legal fees, an agreement was made between the largest three media companies and the US Congress to amend Title 17 of the US Code. The new US code stated that the copyright ownership over a born toon would extend from their parents. This version of the US Code would influence a similar line in the Universal Copyright Convention, ensuring this policy would last worldwide for decades to come.

How do you know YOur COmpany of Origin?

An image of an modified california sample drivers license where all data remains the same except for the image, first name, eyes and hair color, and the addition of a new item thirteen with the designation of COO, aka company of origin. The changed data is meant to reflect the character of lola bunny, so the first name has been changed to Lola, the address has been changed to '123 North Street, Toontown District, CA' and the new item thirteen has the abbreviation 'WB' next to 'COO.' The eye and hair color have been changed to reflect Lola Bunny's blue eyes and blond hair. It is worth noting that the last name remains 'SAMPLE' as it was on the original example license.

A sample driver’s license featuring Lola Bunny.

Your company of origin is that abbreviation next to item sixteen on your ID. Most companies also provide a separate company card for you to file away with your other important documents. Common company abbreviations on important documents like birth certificates, drivers licenses, and school IDs include:

Company	Abbreviation
Disney	*DIS*, WD, WDP, WDS, WDC
Fox	*FOX*
Universal	UNI, DIU, DRE, ILL, UVV
Paramount	*PMT*, PSK
Warner Brothers	WB, WBS
Sony	*SONY*
Lego	*LEGO*

Some companies have sub-COOs to make it clear which sub-company owns you, but this sub-COO does not tend to have different rights and responsibilities than if owned by the main company.

How does Disney orgaNIZE THEIR TOONS?

This is an image of a disney company of origin card. It notates Peter Griffin's biographical information. His surname is Griffin, first name is Justin (in accordance with an episode released in 2007), his middle name is Peter, his media of origin is listed as Family Guy (Fox), and his "DITS Level" -- which stands for "Disney Internal Tier System" -- is noted as "headliner." on the right side of the card Peter's "date of creation" is listed as "31 JAN 1999," his age at creation is noted as 45, the card issue date is noted as 14 DEC 2017, and his gender is noted as M. The bottom right corner has the letters AC in it (which are supposed to be unexplained) while the image of griffin has "DSFR: FM01311999-01-S1E1" underneath it. (The meaning of this is also supposed to be unexplained, though the date is clearly a nod to family guy's premier date. the items after the dash mark are also intended to be example placeholders, though this is not obvious to most viewers without having seen other examples of COO cards.

A promotional image of Peter Griffin’s Disney ID card released by Disney in anticipation of the FOX merger.

All toons owned by subsidiaries of Disney are managed by Disney’s Agency For Toons, AKA DAFT. Your local DAFT office- most are located in Royvale of course, but there are a few others scattered throughout Toontown- is where you can go to get your company ID card, dispute health insurance claims, and more, though you may find yourself waiting in line if you don’t schedule an appointment.

Because Disney is one of the most strict companies of origin, you must apply for many of the ‘privileges’ those from other companies enjoy freely, like freedom of travel or employment. Every Disney toon is called to uphold a ‘particular image of the company’ at all times, so interviews are commonly required to be approved for such frivolous activities.

Of course, not all Disney toons are subject to such stringent rules. Disney utilizes an internal ranking system, which determines the benefits their toons may enjoy without reproach based on popularity. Disney argues that this is the only way to ensure all of the many toons it owns are able to enjoy the ‘dignified quality of life that only Disney can provide.’ Others still argue that ‘all companies have these biases,’ and only Disney is transparent enough to make their process public.

This is a visual representation of disney's internal tier system, it's clear that it's being presented as a more positive thing than it may be in real life. The images on this tierlist are meant to reflect popular characters in the year 2017. At the top of the tier list is the "MASCOT" tier, where stock images of Mickey Mouse, Princess Ariel, and Woody from Toy Story are shown. Unlike the other tiers, there is no additional information of what a toon will gain if they reach that tier. The second tier is titled "Headliners" where stock images of Phineas from Phineas and Ferb, Stitch from Lilo and Stitch, and Max Goof are. At this tier toons gain the ability to own property. (as an aside from the author, i'd say Stitch's recent moves in 2025 might put him in Mascot tier tbh.) The third tier is titled 'actors.' Here you see stock images of Gekko from PJ Masks, Lena from 2017 Ducktales, and Jake from the American Dragon. At this tier toons gain the ability to travel internationally. Tier four is titled representatives. Here there are two faded images of a construction worker and a man in a suit. The man in a suit is the attorney general from harvey birdman, attorney at law but that's not supposed to be obvious. At this tier toons gain "expansion of rental abilities" and yearly free trips to Disneyland. Yes, it's supposed to be vague. Finally there is tier five, titled "extras." there are no characters or images here. the privileges that toons at this level enjoy include "Free Registration at all disney schools (including community colleges!)" and "Priority reservation at Disney Acting Classes."

Disney’s publicly released tier system infographic.

As evidenced by these arguments, many toons, Disney and non-Disney alike, cling to this archaic system, parading it as a something to be prideful of. These views further entrench the idea in our society that ones personal value is tied to your popularity. TATV implores you to remember that no company can determine your worth. That you are just as important on a stage, in front of a camera, and waiting at a bus stop.

Why are companies of origin “Necessary”?

A company of origin just the colloquial term for who owns you as an intellectual property. Without a company of origin, toons would fall into a weird legal grey area of not being considered a ‘person’ but not technically being a piece of property either.

Of course, there is no reason to fear this grey area, it only exists because some humans are uncomfortable with the idea of toons being their equal. Let them be uncomfortable.

Toons Against TV strongly believes that the company that created your grandfather should not determine the rights and responsibilities you are given today. Hell, we don’t think the company that may have created you should be able to determine that. The only way to ensure those freedoms is through a path to citizenship and personhood, and the very media company that owns you stands in the way.

Join us in the fight for citizenship. Join us in the fight against TV.