Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. is an American

holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...

founded in 1923 by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is based in

Tarzana, California Tarzana is a suburban neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Tarzana is on the site of a former ranch owned by author Edgar Rice Burroughs. It is named after Burroughs' fictional jungle hero, Tarzan. Histo ...

. The company holds the rights to the literary works of Burroughs that are still protected by copyright (a number of Burroughs' early works have passed out of copyright and consequently are in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired, ...

). Burroughs was one of the first artists to

incorporate Incorporation may refer to: * Incorporation (business), the creation of a corporation * Incorporation of a place, creation of municipal corporation such as a city or county * Incorporation (academic), awarding a degree based on the student having ...

, which he did for tax reasons and for more control over his works. Burroughs' books were published through the company from 1931 ('' Tarzan the Invincible'') through 1948 (''

Llana of Gathol ''Llana of Gathol'' is a collection of four science fantasy stories by American writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, which were originally published in ''Amazing Stories'' in 1941. The first collected edition of ''Llana of Gathol'' was published in 1948 ...

''), with one additional title ('' I Am a Barbarian'') appearing in 1967. The company remains in the ownership of the Burroughs family and manages and licenses Burroughs' works and characters, including

Tarzan Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...

and

John Carter of Mars John Carter of Mars is a fictional Virginian soldier who acts as the initial protagonist of the Barsoom stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. A veteran of the American Civil War, he is transported to the planet Mars, called Barsoom by its inhabita ...

. In most of the world, the original work of Burroughs is now in public domain.

Legal actions

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. has been involved in numerous legal actions over the years, even in cases where copyright on Burroughs' original work had expired. The company successfully sued Gold Star Books in 1966 and forced the Tarzan series of books by Barton Werper to be taken off the market. In 2004, the company threatened

Victoria University Press Te Herenga Waka University Press or THWUP (formerly Victoria University Press) is the book publishing arm of Victoria University of Wellington, located in Wellington, New Zealand. As of 2022, the press had published around 800 books. History Vi ...

with a lawsuit over author Nigel Cox's book Tarzan Presley, which blended the Tarzan mythos with the life of Elvis Presley. The book has not been reprinted since its initial publication. In 2012, the company sued Dynamite Comics for

trademark infringement Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may ...

. Dynamite's series ''Lord of the Jungle'' and ''Warlord of Mars'' were based on Burroughs' novels that had fallen into public domain. However, ERB claimed that use of trademarked characters Tarzan and John Carter constituted infringement and unfair competition. Dynamite and ERB settled the claim in 2014, and signed a contract to clear the way for both series to continue.

Authorized editions

Starting in 2020, ERB, Inc. will be re-printing the complete literary works of Burroughs, accompanied by new artwork created by Joe Jusko, in hardcover format.

References

External links

* Edgar Rice Burroughs Entertainment companies based in California Mass media companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles Tarzana, Los Angeles American companies established in 1923 Mass media companies established in 1923 Publishing companies established in 1923 1923 establishments in California {{US-media-company-stub