4 ms·

I don't seem to feel the same way that most people do on this issue. Why is it so bad that the corporation that owns the rights to Mickey Mouse, and still uses

I don't seem to feel the same way that most people do on this issue. Why is it so bad that the corporation that owns the rights to Mickey Mouse, and still uses "him" to make money, retains the rights to that character? Why should it be our right to make money off it as well?

stratospark 16y ago
Disney has made a fortune modernizing classic fairy tales. The reason that such tales have lasted so long in our shared culture is that people have been free to evolve them into their own works. Who gave Disney permission to create stories based on the Brothers Grimm or Arabian Nights? Imagine a culture years from now, where every piece of culture has been locked down by a corporation. What kind of stagnation would exist? Would only the authorized storytellers be allowed to participate in authorized creation? Disney is fighting to extend copyright perpetually. They want to be making money from Mickey Mouse a 1000 years from now. The original artists will be long gone, but no one will be able to build upon Mickey as Disney has built upon ancient tales. Read some Cory Doctorow for a better explanation of this. Makers is especially good.
- coderdude 16y ago
  Your examples of stories they derived movies from were in the public domain specifically because their creators were dead and no corporation owned the rights to them. So what if they are still making money off of something they are actively using? You actually believe our culutre is negatively affected by this? I bet you would't feel the same way if you were forced to relinquish your own wildly successful IP due to some span of time elapsing. That whole bit about a future where all parts of our culture are "locked down" by corporations is utter nonsense.
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    And how fair is denying future generations these goods fair? Who should we protect? Corporations or the society?
    - coderdude 16y ago
      That's my point though. Society shouldn't own IP just because it is old and we got used to it. We should protect the IP's rightful owners until the rightful owners are gone from this Earth. You're acting as if you're defending our children's children's children by wanting Mickey Mouse forced into the public domain. This isn't a matter of 'evil megacorps' robbing our children of something precious.
rbanffy 16y ago
Because copyrights exist to creste an incentive for the production of cultural goods. If Disney can milk their cows forever, there will be little incentive to produce new cows. This monopoly on such cultural goods prevents the creation of derivedworks and reduce the value to the population of these goods. They can have their copyright, but for a reasonable time.
- Semiapies 16y ago
  "If Disney can milk their cows forever, there will be little incentive to produce new cows." How so?
  - rbanffy 16y ago
    Why would you incur the risk of making new cows if the old cows are just as good? http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/lessig_nyed.html http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/lessig_nyed.html http://www.ted.com/themes/tales_of_invention.html http://www.ted.com/themes/tales_of_invention.html and stratospark's excellent response a couple messages back
- coderdude 16y ago
  Disney isn't the only producer of "cows." If Disney wants to use it forever, let them. It would not stop anyone else from coming up with something original. Owning the rights to Mickey Mouse for so long hasn't even stopped them from producing new works all this time.
- tzs 16y ago
  Don't you have that backwards? If I wish to make cartoons and use an anthropomorphic mouse, I have more incentive to create a new character so that I can avoid having to license Mickey. If Mickey were public domain, I'd have less incentive to create a new character, as I could just use Mickey. In fact, I might have incentive to specifically avoid creating a new character, because Mickey has recognition.
  - rbanffy 16y ago

stratospark 16y ago

Disney has made a fortune modernizing classic fairy tales. The reason that such tales have lasted so long in our shared culture is that people have been free to evolve them into their own works. Who gave Disney permission to create stories based on the Brothers Grimm or Arabian Nights? Imagine a culture years from now, where every piece of culture has been locked down by a corporation. What kind of stagnation would exist? Would only the authorized storytellers be allowed to participate in authorized creation? Disney is fighting to extend copyright perpetually. They want to be making money from Mickey Mouse a 1000 years from now. The original artists will be long gone, but no one will be able to build upon Mickey as Disney has built upon ancient tales. Read some Cory Doctorow for a better explanation of this. Makers is especially good.

coderdude 16y ago
Your examples of stories they derived movies from were in the public domain specifically because their creators were dead and no corporation owned the rights to them. So what if they are still making money off of something they are actively using? You actually believe our culutre is negatively affected by this? I bet you would't feel the same way if you were forced to relinquish your own wildly successful IP due to some span of time elapsing. That whole bit about a future where all parts of our culture are "locked down" by corporations is utter nonsense.
- rbanffy 16y ago
  And how fair is denying future generations these goods fair? Who should we protect? Corporations or the society?
  - coderdude 16y ago
    That's my point though. Society shouldn't own IP just because it is old and we got used to it. We should protect the IP's rightful owners until the rightful owners are gone from this Earth. You're acting as if you're defending our children's children's children by wanting Mickey Mouse forced into the public domain. This isn't a matter of 'evil megacorps' robbing our children of something precious.

rbanffy 16y ago

Because copyrights exist to creste an incentive for the production of cultural goods. If Disney can milk their cows forever, there will be little incentive to produce new cows. This monopoly on such cultural goods prevents the creation of derivedworks and reduce the value to the population of these goods. They can have their copyright, but for a reasonable time.

Semiapies 16y ago
"If Disney can milk their cows forever, there will be little incentive to produce new cows." How so?
- rbanffy 16y ago
  Why would you incur the risk of making new cows if the old cows are just as good? http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/lessig_nyed.html http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/lessig_nyed.html http://www.ted.com/themes/tales_of_invention.html http://www.ted.com/themes/tales_of_invention.html and stratospark's excellent response a couple messages back
coderdude 16y ago
Disney isn't the only producer of "cows." If Disney wants to use it forever, let them. It would not stop anyone else from coming up with something original. Owning the rights to Mickey Mouse for so long hasn't even stopped them from producing new works all this time.
tzs 16y ago
Don't you have that backwards? If I wish to make cartoons and use an anthropomorphic mouse, I have more incentive to create a new character so that I can avoid having to license Mickey. If Mickey were public domain, I'd have less incentive to create a new character, as I could just use Mickey. In fact, I might have incentive to specifically avoid creating a new character, because Mickey has recognition.
- rbanffy 16y ago