November 23, 2009





I am personally a Beavers Fan. But this month I am on the Ducks' side....at least some of their fans. 
A video was posted to You Tube by some Oregon Ducks fans under the group name “Supwitchugirl” and it is a rap song called 'I Love My Ducks.' It's hilarious and went viral quickly. (I was personally 'Tweeted' it a dozen times.)


But the marketing arm of the UO athletic department asked the students to take it down earlier this week because the Duck mascot appears repeatedly in it, and the rights to the mascot are a copyright of the Walt Disney Co. — an agreement between the UO and Disney that dates back to at least the early 1940s. The Duck, after all, is based on Donald Duck.


Apparently Disney hasn't made an official complaint, but the marketing department doesn't want it to go that far.


“There is a misconception that the athletic department is opposed to the video,” UO athletic department spokesman Dave Williford said. “And that’s not true. We’re opposed to the Duck being in the video. It’s a great piece. We just would like the Duck removed from the video, then we don’t have an issue.”
This story has even gone viral to some degree and even TechDirt.com posted a story about it.
I agree with Tech Dirt and think that it's silly as the video is doing no harm to Walt Disney and...it's a great video and song is freakin' awesome! So forget Disney and the marketing department. Here's the video below:







Cheers,


~Matthew