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>And assuming Congress doesn't interfere, more works will fall into the public domain each January from now on. >On January 1, 2024, we'll see the expiration o
by RcouF1uZ4gsC 8y ago
>And assuming Congress doesn't interfere, more works will fall into the public domain each January from now on.
>On January 1, 2024, we'll see the expiration of the copyright for Steamboat Willie—and with it Disney's claim to the film's star, Mickey Mouse. The copyrights to Superman, Batman, Disney's Snow White, and early Looney Tunes characters will all fall into the public domain between 2031 and 2035.
Given this list, I don’t see Disney, Warner Brothers, and DC comics all sitting idly by. If I was a betting person, I would bet that Snow White will not enter the public domain on the 2030’s.
- simplicio 8y agoI dunno. They'll still have the TM and copyrights on later works with the characters. And there's already plenty of unlicensed Mickey et. al. stuff out there even with the copyright. I doubt this is really that threatening to their bottom line. (plus in the case of Disney, they probably have more IP then they can effectively market anyways, if Snow White goes public, they'll still have like two dozen similar princess characters they can push) On the other hand, picking a fight over the issue risks a public backlash that might go the other way and weaken existing copyright law in a way that really would hurt them. So I'd bet Snow White will enter the public domain.
- reificator 8y agoI'm not an expert, but I'd think Snow White would be one of the most likely, as it's not really a cash cow these days. In fact it might backfire if they tried to push it in the modern climate.
- swiftcoder 8y agoIsn't Snow White (as in the fairy tale) centuries out of copyright? Disney's specific version will still be protected by trademark, so at best one gains the right to host the Disney footage online in 2030.
- wbillingsley 8y agoApparently Disney's names for the dwarfs, other than Sneezy, are copyright. So pantomimes regularly turn up with a slightly different array of dwarfs. (And different songs, of course)
- ivan_gammel 8y agoOld movies, cartoons and comic books are not commercially attractive enough to keep fighting for those originals. Disney can make new Snow White and make hundreds of millions on this release, so what's the point in costly lobbying for a fraction of that revenue?