Those involved in the creation of the art can write a contract that stops it being ruined by future owners. When the Bobs sold their rights to Back to the Future they added terms to protect the brand. I know of one time where they intervened to stop a 3D conversion that Universal wanted. (Personally, I think 3D conversion can work well, e.g. Titanic, but other times it is monstrous, e.g. Star Wars Ep 1)