4 ms·

Curious about something: - let's say original Tintin works were created from 1929 to 1969. - does this mean only the works released in 1929 are now "remixabl

Curious about something: - let's say original Tintin works were created from 1929 to 1969. - does this mean only the works released in 1929 are now "remixable"? - or does it mean that the "concept of Tintin" is now going to be in the public domain? - (I'm pretty sure the works from 1969 will not be in the public domain).

gbear605 2y ago
My understanding, which is limited, is that anything that is from the 1929 Tintin will be public domain, but the later additions are still under copyright. So you can use the character, but not reference later stories or characters introduced later. It’s much the same as how you can freely make fiction about Thor, but you can’t freely make fiction about Thor, the Marvel character.
tomkarho 2y ago
If only it was that simple. IANAL and other disclaimers but let's take Mickey Mouse as a comparison point. Steamboat willie is in public domain so that particular cartoon and aesthetic it introduces is fair game but modern day Mickey is not. To simplify: the one with white pants is good but the one with red ones is not. So let's pretend Tintin had his hair style in 1929 but got his blue sweater at 1969. I would imagine that would mean that you could make anything with a Tintin character (and call it Tintin) that has the hair style but put him in a blue sweater and you'll get in trouble. It's not just the character name that matters but various other pieces that make up the character and not all of them were introduced or became iconic in the same time period.
- HPsquared 2y ago
  That must make it dangerous. If anything in your "old style reproduction" happens to resemble the newer version, even by chance, say he happens to wear a blue sweater one day. Or whatever they could claim in court was from the newer work. Absolute minefield!
  - mopenstein 2y ago
    And don't forget trademarks never expire.

gbear605 2y ago

My understanding, which is limited, is that anything that is from the 1929 Tintin will be public domain, but the later additions are still under copyright. So you can use the character, but not reference later stories or characters introduced later. It’s much the same as how you can freely make fiction about Thor, but you can’t freely make fiction about Thor, the Marvel character.

tomkarho 2y ago

If only it was that simple. IANAL and other disclaimers but let's take Mickey Mouse as a comparison point. Steamboat willie is in public domain so that particular cartoon and aesthetic it introduces is fair game but modern day Mickey is not. To simplify: the one with white pants is good but the one with red ones is not. So let's pretend Tintin had his hair style in 1929 but got his blue sweater at 1969. I would imagine that would mean that you could make anything with a Tintin character (and call it Tintin) that has the hair style but put him in a blue sweater and you'll get in trouble. It's not just the character name that matters but various other pieces that make up the character and not all of them were introduced or became iconic in the same time period.

HPsquared 2y ago
That must make it dangerous. If anything in your "old style reproduction" happens to resemble the newer version, even by chance, say he happens to wear a blue sweater one day. Or whatever they could claim in court was from the newer work. Absolute minefield!
- mopenstein 2y ago
  And don't forget trademarks never expire.