3 ms·
Ah, but Mickey Mouse also has trademark protection. So if Steamboat Willie entered the public domain, then I could put it up on YouTube, but I couldn't sell an
by rflrob 13y ago
Ah, but Mickey Mouse also has trademark protection. So if Steamboat Willie entered the public domain, then I could put it up on YouTube, but I couldn't sell an unlicensed Mickey Mouse Tshirt, which I think is totally fair to Disney.
- cookiecaper 13y agoAgree. I think Disney et al like to play up confusion on trademark v. copyright. Trademark protects corporate identities, brands, and icons, like Mickey Mouse in the context of a representative of an amusement and media company, and copyright protects whole non-trivial creative works, like "Steamboat Willie". Due to trademark protection, other companies couldn't use Mickey Mouse to create confusion, misrepresent themselves as associated with Disney, etc., but anyone (including Disney) could watch, disseminate, or modify early Disney films under any terms they saw fit.