Bob Ross, host of The Joy Of Painting TV Series on PBS, was a pop-culture icon known for his charisma and famous landscape paintings. Bob’s popularity grew even more after his death in 1995. This pop culture icon will be remembered long after the advent of casual online streaming and the appearance of his series via the popular streaming app Twitch TV.
Bob believed that there were no mistakes in painting or life. He only wanted to be able to enjoy his father’s fame, fortune, and success.
We’ll be discussing how Bob’s failures in planning led to a bitter court battle between his business partners and his family for the rights to the Bob Ross intellectual property. While Bob’s son Steve lost his fight for the rights to the lucrative intellectual property rights to the Bob Ross brand, his family was able to reap the benefits of the business’s assets after his death. We’ll discuss the steps you can take so your loved ones are not subject to the same fate.
In the Beginning …..
Bob Ross Inc. was founded in 1985 by Walter and Annette Kowalski, who met Bob Ross and recognized his potential. Bob Ross and Jane Ross, his wife, and Walter and Annette had originally agreed to the business being divided in four ways.
BRI’s original business model was Bob teaching classes along the east coast of the United States. They also sold art supplies and instruction manuals. After signing up with PBS to produce The Joy of Painting and launching their own line of Bob Ross-brand art and painting supplies, the business started to flourish.
BRI registered many trademarks that included Bob Ross’ name or likeness from 1986 to 1994. The company also signed numerous licensing agreements with third parties with Bob’s permission. Although all four of the company’s partners, Bob, Jane, Walter, and Annette, were technically equal, it was well-known that Bob was the person in charge of the talent, face, and brand.
The Joy of Painting was a top-rated show on PBS at the end of the 1980s. This made the frizzy-headed artist a celebrity. Bob appeared on talk shows like Regis, Kathy Lee, and Donahue. He was also a star at the Grand Ole Opry. Bob had even planned to start his own musical, based on the TV show, at the height of his fame.
BRI’s success and Bob’s popularity boosted the sales of their art supplies. They now offer books, videos, paints, and brushes with Bob’s likeness and name. BRI started to offer painting workshops in the United States, where teachers were trained in the “happy accidents” methodology. .
This resulted in significant financial success for BRI. According to records made public in the lawsuits over Bob’s estate, BRI brought in approximately half a million dollars per year for its four partners. The good times would not last.
Bob’s Wife Died Shortly Thereafter
Things began to slide in 1992 when Bob’s wife Jane died from cancer. Jane’s share of BRI was split equally between the three surviving partners following her death. Bob was left with only one-third ownership of the company that bears his name and likeness. He no longer controlled his company.
Bob was diagnosed with lymphoma shortly after Jane’s passing. The Kowalskis offered Bob an unsavory deal in 1994 while battling cancer. According to reports, they faxed Bob a deal that would grant them all Bob’s IP rights and all his artistic works. The Kowalskis were to pay Ross and his surviving heirs only 10% of the BRI’s profits over the next ten years. After ten years, the Kowalskis would-be heirs to all income from Bob Ross, Inc.
Bob refused to sign the agreement and was furious that the Kowalskis would ask him to. Bob modified his estate plan to protect his intellectual property and business rights.
Bob attempted to do this by adding a clause to the Bob Ross Trust that stated that Bob’s intellectual property rights would pass to his son Steve and Jimmie Cox, his half-brother. Bob gave Jimmie 51% and Steve 49% of the intellectual property interest. Oddly enough, even though Bob’s will left his intellectual property to Steve/Jimmie, the story continues because Jimmie didn’t share this information with Steve. Steve would learn about the changes in his father’s estate plan two decades later.
An End to a Life
Bob Ross, 52 years old, died July 4, 1995. His estate was valued at $1.3million upon his death. Half of that was his one-third stake in BRI. The Kowalskis could not take full control of Bob’s BRI share while Bob was still alive and decided to sue Bob. The Kowalskis sought all his intellectual property rights in the lawsuit. They also sought all Bob’s completed paintings and all Bob’s tools and paints, right down to his easels and brushes. Despite Bob’s explicit wishes, Kowalski’s legal strategy was ultimately designed to take complete control over Bob’s afterlife.
Jimmie Cox, the estate executor, settled with the Kowalskis because he did not have the financial resources to continue a long legal battle. Bob’s intellectual property rights were transferred to BRI as part of the settlement agreement.
The Bob Ross Trust and the estate also signed separate mutual releases with BRI. These agreements stated that the parties, their heirs and assigns, successors and in interest, and the Bob Ross Trust, had agreed to be bound by separate mutual releases.
“Do, now and forever, irrevocably and completely, release one another from all claims, suits liabilities, complaints losses, damages, and costs of any kind or character that may have arisen before the date hereof.”
Bob Ross Reboot
In the years that followed his death, Bob Ross’s popularity exploded. While The Joy of Painting’s final episode aired in 1995, as time passed, more and more people discovered the work and persona of the legendary artist via the Internet. The Bob Ross brand was born in 2012 when Annette Kowalski and Walt Kowalski gave control to Joan.
Things took off when Joan was approached in 2015 by Janson Media, a licensing company, to add The joy of painting to an online streaming platform called Twitch. Twitch had 403 episodes and launched a Bob Ross marathon. Millions soon loved the Bob Ross brand.
Joan spoke with Vocativ’s online journal Vocativ about the Bob Ross reboot in 2015. Joan said TV was the catalyst for change”. “They made everyone remember their childhood even though they’ve always been there… We’re freakin’ out.”
Joan was approached by Firefly by another brand management firm. That’s when the money started to flow in after the Twitch broadcast. You can now find everything you need, from Bob Ross bobbleheads to Bob Ross chia pet toys to Bob Ross Christmas ornaments to action figures. Twitch and Netflix both stream The Joy of Painting series. There’s also a Bob Ross sleep app through the Calm meditation app.
These licensing opportunities led to significant money for BRI.
Steve Sues
Bob changed his will shortly before his death to transfer his intellectual property rights to his son Steve and his half-brother Jimmie Cox. However, Steve claimed he didn’t know his father had made such a move. Steve claimed that he discovered the clause in his father’s trust after his father died more than 20 years ago.
Steve sued Bob Ross Inc. based on this knowledge. He claimed that all licensing deals and products using his father’s name or likeness were illegal. Steve sought compensation for years of unauthorized use of intellectual property rights that he claims he owns, based on his father’s estate plan.
Here’s the catch. The court ruled in 2019 that Bob Ross’s trust couldn’t have assigned intellectual property rights for Steve and Jimmie because the Trust didn’t own these rights. Let’s do it again. The trust did not own these rights. The court, in its ruling, stated this.
“Plaintiff wouldn’t own the intellectual property in question because it was never owned by the Trust.” In the same way, Bob Ross granted BRI his right of publicity during his life, so it cannot have been transferred to his son .”
It didn’t matter that Steve’s father was left his intellectual property rights by the Bob Ross Trust because they never owned them. The court found that Bob had made oral agreements to transfer all his intellectual property to BRI over his lifetime. The court ruled that the amendment to Bob Ross’ trust was ineffective, as Bob Ross had already granted all rights to his intellectual property.
Steve believed he could win an appeal in his case. However, he did not have enough money to fight BRI, so he settled with the Kowalski family. Steve agreed to give up his intellectual property claims against his father in exchange for a small payment. Steve could continue his business under his own name after the settlement.
Steve Hasn’t Lost
Steve started his own painting workshop in the same studio his father started his career over 25 years ago. Dana Jester, his father’s friend from childhood, joined Steve in his new venture. In September 2019, several artists came together to learn from two of the most skilled masters of Bob Ross’ painting technique.
Despite Bob Ross’s intention to leave his intellectual property rights in his will to his son, because Bob failed to coordinate business agreements with his estate plans, his son Steve won’t be able to share the wealth that was made by the business empire built upon his father’s name, likeness, and persona.