5 ms·

I'd be so excited if Superman ever entered the public domain. Then I'm convinced we'd get much better adaptations than the drivel we've been seeing for the last

I'd be so excited if Superman ever entered the public domain. Then I'm convinced we'd get much better adaptations than the drivel we've been seeing for the last several years.

reificator 8y ago
Then you'll be happy to know he's already there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(1940s_cartoons) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(1940s_cartoons)
- amenod 8y ago
  Not according to the OP - is this something else? > 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.
  - msbarnett 8y ago
    That’s describing the situation in the US. Elsewhere the 1940s movies are already public domain.
    - diminoten 8y ago
      Then how come we haven't seen anything of substance/value?
      - msbarnett 8y ago
        Because these movies being public domain just means these specific movies are public domain, nothing more. You can recut and remix them, if you wish. You can’t do whatever you want with the character of Superman and the many elements of his stories that exist outside these works, however.
        diminoten 8y ago
        > You can’t do whatever you want with the character of Superman Yes you can.
      - Asooka 8y ago
        Superman is such a basic character that you can absolutely make stories about him without actually copying the character. Also, it's desirable to have your own character that you can merchandise exclusively. As an example, the Japanese manga/anime "One Punch Man" is a work that takes the very basic premise of an unbeatable super-man and goes interesting places with it.
      - astrodust 8y ago
        Ask yourself, does the world really need more Superman?
msbarnett 8y ago
> I'd be so excited if Superman ever entered the public domain. Then I'm convinced we'd get much better adaptations than the drivel we've been seeing for the last several years. Individual works are entering the public domain, but what you’re proposing is much trickier and largely unsettled legal territory. When early Superman stories enter the public domain there’s no legal guarantee that courts will agree that this includes the right to tell new stories with the character. Further it almost certainly DOESN’T include the right to tell stories about the characters using elements that come from later, still-under-copyright works — and much of what we think of as Superman’s mythos comes not from the early comics but from the 1940s radio show (flight rather than big jumps, The Daily Planet, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, kryptonite, “look, up in the sky...”), or from silver age comics of the 50s and 60s (Braniac, Bizaro, Zod, most of the characteristics of the arctic fortress of solitude, vision powers, breath powers, kandor...). It’ll be decades before a recognizable Superman mythos is public domain.
- incompatible 8y ago
  What about "Superman" as a trademark? I assume it's already fine to make characters with Superman-like powers but with another name.
  - msbarnett 8y ago
    > I assume it's already fine to make characters with Superman-like powers but with another name You may want to take a look at the outcome of National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. https://bit.ly/2CHZt0i https://bit.ly/2CHZt0i the courts have and will slap down clearly “ersatz Superman” characters. edit: had to use a URL shortener because HN keeps mangling the Wikipedia URL
    - incompatible 8y ago
      Interesting. It makes it mysterious to me at which point a mere collection of "facts" about a fictional character turns into a copyrightable depiction.

I'd be so excited if Superman ever entered the public domain. Then I'm convinced we'd get much better adaptations than the drivel we've been seeing for the last several years.

reificator 8y ago

Then you'll be happy to know he's already there. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(1940s_cartoons) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(1940s_cartoons)

amenod 8y ago
Not according to the OP - is this something else? > 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.
- msbarnett 8y ago
  That’s describing the situation in the US. Elsewhere the 1940s movies are already public domain.
  - diminoten 8y ago
    Then how come we haven't seen anything of substance/value?
    - msbarnett 8y ago
      Because these movies being public domain just means these specific movies are public domain, nothing more. You can recut and remix them, if you wish. You can’t do whatever you want with the character of Superman and the many elements of his stories that exist outside these works, however.
      - diminoten 8y ago
        > You can’t do whatever you want with the character of Superman Yes you can.
    - Asooka 8y ago
      Superman is such a basic character that you can absolutely make stories about him without actually copying the character. Also, it's desirable to have your own character that you can merchandise exclusively. As an example, the Japanese manga/anime "One Punch Man" is a work that takes the very basic premise of an unbeatable super-man and goes interesting places with it.
    - astrodust 8y ago
      Ask yourself, does the world really need more Superman?

msbarnett 8y ago

> I'd be so excited if Superman ever entered the public domain. Then I'm convinced we'd get much better adaptations than the drivel we've been seeing for the last several years. Individual works are entering the public domain, but what you’re proposing is much trickier and largely unsettled legal territory. When early Superman stories enter the public domain there’s no legal guarantee that courts will agree that this includes the right to tell new stories with the character. Further it almost certainly DOESN’T include the right to tell stories about the characters using elements that come from later, still-under-copyright works — and much of what we think of as Superman’s mythos comes not from the early comics but from the 1940s radio show (flight rather than big jumps, The Daily Planet, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, kryptonite, “look, up in the sky...”), or from silver age comics of the 50s and 60s (Braniac, Bizaro, Zod, most of the characteristics of the arctic fortress of solitude, vision powers, breath powers, kandor...). It’ll be decades before a recognizable Superman mythos is public domain.

incompatible 8y ago
What about "Superman" as a trademark? I assume it's already fine to make characters with Superman-like powers but with another name.
- msbarnett 8y ago
  > I assume it's already fine to make characters with Superman-like powers but with another name You may want to take a look at the outcome of National Comics Publications, Inc. v. Fawcett Publications, Inc. https://bit.ly/2CHZt0i https://bit.ly/2CHZt0i the courts have and will slap down clearly “ersatz Superman” characters. edit: had to use a URL shortener because HN keeps mangling the Wikipedia URL
  - incompatible 8y ago
    Interesting. It makes it mysterious to me at which point a mere collection of "facts" about a fictional character turns into a copyrightable depiction.