4 ms·

yes, the copyright for an individual work will - but not on the character itself. because the character has slowly evolved over time. The expiration of copyrig

by Aloha 9y ago

yes, the copyright for an individual work will - but not on the character itself. because the character has slowly evolved over time. The expiration of copyright on steamboat Willie, will not allow for anything but royalty free copying of that work.

dannypgh 9y ago
IANAL but https://fairuse.stanford.edu/case/klinger-v-conan-doyle-estate-ltd/ https://fairuse.stanford.edu/case/klinger-v-conan-doyle-esta... leads me to believe that derivatives of Mickey Mouse that only draw from the public domain work should be fair use. So, no mentioning Minnie, and no stenciling off of a recent design.
- Aloha 9y ago
  Exactly the point I was trying to make. Thanks!
pwinnski 9y ago
There is no copyright on the character itself. There's a copyright on each piece of media the character has been in, like Steamboat Willie, but there is no copyright on Mickey Mouse. The character is trademarked, but not copyrighted. The words "copyright" and "trademark" are different, and mean different things. You might know this and be fuzzing them for the sake of simplification, but if so, you've over-simplified. They are different, and treating them as the same is wrong and leads to confusion. The copyright on Steamboat Willie will expire, allowing royalty-free use and copying of that movie, including Mickey Mouse. At that point, that version of Mickey Mouse will be free to us--BUT the ongoing trademark on the character will mean people should still stay away.
- Aloha 9y ago
  I was fuzzing yes - and I was making the point that elements of the character not established in the works coming into public domain, would remain under copyright, and that trademark would also lock the character up - but I did fuzz the point excessively.
chrismcb 9y ago
Or a creation of a work based on steamboat Willie. Anyone could then write a steamboat Willie 2. You just can't use anything added to the character in later works.

by Aloha 9y ago

dannypgh 9y ago

IANAL but https://fairuse.stanford.edu/case/klinger-v-conan-doyle-estate-ltd/ https://fairuse.stanford.edu/case/klinger-v-conan-doyle-esta... leads me to believe that derivatives of Mickey Mouse that only draw from the public domain work should be fair use. So, no mentioning Minnie, and no stenciling off of a recent design.

Aloha 9y ago
Exactly the point I was trying to make. Thanks!

pwinnski 9y ago

There is no copyright on the character itself. There's a copyright on each piece of media the character has been in, like Steamboat Willie, but there is no copyright on Mickey Mouse. The character is trademarked, but not copyrighted. The words "copyright" and "trademark" are different, and mean different things. You might know this and be fuzzing them for the sake of simplification, but if so, you've over-simplified. They are different, and treating them as the same is wrong and leads to confusion. The copyright on Steamboat Willie will expire, allowing royalty-free use and copying of that movie, including Mickey Mouse. At that point, that version of Mickey Mouse will be free to us--BUT the ongoing trademark on the character will mean people should still stay away.

Aloha 9y ago
I was fuzzing yes - and I was making the point that elements of the character not established in the works coming into public domain, would remain under copyright, and that trademark would also lock the character up - but I did fuzz the point excessively.

chrismcb 9y ago

Or a creation of a work based on steamboat Willie. Anyone could then write a steamboat Willie 2. You just can't use anything added to the character in later works.