5 ms·
I don't know your country's law but trademark is just the trademark. Trademark holder can't stop people from using the trademark word. They can stop calling the
by ezoe 8y ago
I don't know your country's law but trademark is just the trademark. Trademark holder can't stop people from using the trademark word. They can stop calling the fake thing as the trademark word because it's not the thing trademark word refer to.
If it is indeed the Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie, then it's the Mickey Mouse.
- criddell 8y agoI'm not sure how you could create a Batman or Mickey Mouse product without confusing the consumer and isn't that the test?
- darkpuma 8y agoSteamboat willing entering the public domain would not allow you to create the movie "Mickey Mouse joins the Pirate Party"
- dannypgh 8y agoBut I believe you could make "Mouseman Joins The Pirate Party" and use drawings based on (or directly lifted from) Steamboat Willy itself, no?
- darkpuma 8y agoIf you lift the images of the strange mouse/person hybrid directly from Steamboat Willy, I would expect that to be legal. But I'm not sure if you could draw your own or not, could Disney have a trademark on the general likeness of the mouse man? I couldn't say. That said, parody/fair use would probably cover your ass for that in practice.
- dannypgh 8y agoSee https://fairuse.stanford.edu/case/klinger-v-conan-doyle-estate-ltd/ https://fairuse.stanford.edu/case/klinger-v-conan-doyle-esta... I would expect drawings based solely on thr Steamboat Willy work to be okay. The sequels start new timers on new characters or qualities, they don't extend the copyright on the original work. of course, IANAL.
- Gaelan 8y agoWouldn't a prominent "I don't have anything to do with Disney" do it?
- crooked-v 8y agoMaybe explicit branding differentiation, in the style of "Disney's ____" already used to make for distinct branding from other public domain retelling. "Marvel's Superman", that kind of thing.