Unhappy Accidents: the Bob Ross Saga and IP Rights Explained (1)

At the root of the scandal and drama in a Netflix documentary about painter Bob Ross is an intellectual property fight revolving around the nature and proper management of assets like publicity rights.

The documentary, “Happy Accidents: Betrayal and Greed,” dives into the history of Ross’ rise and his son Steve’s legal struggle to secure Ross’ intellectual property, including rights to his name and image. But ultimately, the corporate structure of Bob Ross Inc., founded by the soft-spoken television painter, his wife, and business partners Annette and Walt Kowalski, dictated the result.

Bob Ross Inc. secured all of Ross’ intellectual ...