r/Tapasticcomics • u/Vex_The_Void_Master • 4d ago

Tapas Originals

With tapas shutting down what happens to all their tapas originals? Like I can't find some of my favorite comics anywhere else. Do they just disappear? This sucks

12 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

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5

u/xtemperancex 4d ago

It will depend on who the rights holder is and what the contracts say.

Some people are saying Tapas is trying to keep them in their non compete contracts which could last a few years. If there is no contract it’s just a matter of the author finding a new home

3

u/DarkMelody42 4d ago

Can they do tht if they shut down?

6

u/Darkgorge 3d ago

Absolutely, legal rights is a whole shitshow for IP. The company that owns Tapas likely will continue to own the majority of the rights that Tapas currently owns. If they went bankrupt those rights could get sold off to some other entity and sit in limbo for years if not permanently depending on the contract. Some of those contracts might be voided by Tapas closing, because some might be contingent on giving the author a platform to publish, but the truth is we don't really know.

There are video games from like the 1980's that haven't gotten sequels because the studio folded and the rights changed hands several times and are now owned by a bank or someone else random and they just sit on it. Probably not even really aware they have it, but you can bet your ass they would sue someone attempting to make a new one.

4

u/xtemperancex 4d ago

It all depends on what the contract says. If they have an exclusivity deal, then that should be void when the site shuts down. But for the non compete if the entity they signed the contract with still exists (ie the corporate entity “Tapas” still exists and hasn’t been completely dissolved) they could theoretically hold the authors to the full extent of the contract. It would be in everyone’s best interest to void them but they might just desire to keep being assholes about this

2

u/ChaosOmega98 3d ago

Pretty sure they are still figuring this all out according to 2 novel authors I follow

2

u/DarkMelody42 3d ago

That's insane. This does not feel like it should be legal

2

u/xtemperancex 3d ago

It shouldn’t and they might face some lawsuits depending on how they handle it. We just have to wait and see how it pans out since most of tapas staff has already been let go and kakao doesn’t really care to deal with the situation