The sun never sets on the Disney Empire. That doesn't mean that there aren't dark days. The company's profit specter casts a heavy shadow around the globe. That shadow even reaches to the mountain community of Oakhurst.

The city played host to Disney Daze today. It is an annual celebration of everything Disney held by people who love the Disney Company. These are people who have either spent their lives in service to the company or spent lots of money to scoop up merchandise.

And the Disney Company wants to make sure it gets every single penny.

One of the guests at the event was Disney artist and illustrator Ron Dias. His appearance at the event was a special treat. Any Disney animator should be revered for the work they have done for the company. There is no telling how many hours the animators worked just to make each new Disney project come to life.

Dias signed and sold copies of some of the sketches he had made during his years with Disney. That was all you could buy if you were a fan. There was no way to pay Dias to create an original drawing. Dias could not create any original drawings at the event because of restrictions placed on him by the Disney Company.

The reason Dias could not do any original drawings was because it would be impossible for the Disney Company to tell exactly how many drawings he sold. That would mean the Disney Company would never be certain how much their cut of the money should be.

It makes sense Disney should protect its product. But there is a point where it should be OK to do something nice for all of those fans who have shown so much support over the years. Don't blame Dias. It was just the dark specter that set up the limitations.