Content Rights Policy

In order to make our content affordable and transfer the cost savings to the parents and families consuming our content, our platform has the policy of only streaming the content which does not require a commercial license. That means, by and large, content which is abandoned and has expired copyright; or content which has a clear legal history of its author relinquishing commercial streaming rights to the said content.

Any content which is still protected by active copyright will under no circumstances be featured on our platform. We have a standing policy to do the due diligence on any and every single asset which may appear on the app. Our researchers trace its legal history, and validate against publicly available records, to ensure that each piece of content is abandoned and/or not under copyright.

Additionally, the team which manages the content on the app is itself highly restricted and vetted before having access to content management. Each member of the content management team understands that they themselves will be liable and held accountable for every unlicensed individual item displayed on the app.

Additionally, we provide a direct line of communication from any concerned parties: rights@theburst.co, and will immediately take down content with an active license that has fallen through our vetting process. That team member will be held accountable.

The following are the broad principles by which we determine sources of content:

1. Content produced in the United States with a clear and undisputed status of public domain or abandonment. For example Gulliver’s Travels (1939), which was produced by a company that went out of business in 1940. More examples below.
2. Content produced in the Soviet Union, which had been dissolved in 1991 and under which there was no copyright in the Western sense (ie. on ideological grounds, ie. state communism). None of them are licensed in the United States.
3. Internationally-produced content which is at least 50 years old, or older, and does not have any active license holders or licensed resellers.

The great age of our content is directly apparent by watching our assets themselves: the will have all the visual imperfections and signs of wear which indicate their age and lack of maintenance: spots, skipped frames, and other indications of age. Our subscribers agree to this aspect of our content, because we are able to pass the resulting cost savings directly to them.

The following are examples of our content and some of the indications on their right of use:

• Gulliver’s Travels (1939), US. Abandoned: info.
• Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp (1939), US. Abandoned: info.
• Popeye and Sindbad (1936), US. Abandoned: info.
• Popeye and Ali Baba’s Forty Thieves (1937), US. Abandoned: info.
• There’s Good Boos To-Night (1948), US. Abandoned: info.
• Santa’s Surprise (1947), US. Abandoned: info.
• A Haunting We Will Go (1949), US. Abandoned: info.
• The Friendly Ghost (1945), US. Abandoned: info.
• Snubbed by a Snob (1940), US. Abandoned: info.
• The Sunshine Makers (1935), US. Abandoned: info.
• Susie The Little Blue Coupe (1952), US. Famous as the only cartoon Disney missed during their copyright renewals, placing it in the public domain. Info.
• The Little Cabin | Терем теремок (1971), Soviet Union.
• Thumbelina | Дюймовочка (1964), Soviet Union.
• You’re Invited | Приезжайте в гости (1979), Soviet Union.
• Who Will Get The Prize | Кто получит приз (1979), Soviet Union.
• The Snow Queen | Снежная королева (1957), Soviet Union.
• Spunky the Snowman | Снеговик-почтовик (1956), Soviet Union.
• The Frog Princess | Царевна-лягушка (1954), Soviet Union.
• The Scarlet Flower | Аленький цветочек (1952), Soviet Union.
• Little Gray Neck | Серая Шейка (1948), Soviet Union.
• The Humpback Pony | Конек-горбунок (1947), Soviet Union.
• The Fifth Column Mouse (1943), US. Abandoned: info.
• Etc.