LogFAQs > #971046430

The real misunderstanding is people who think "public domain" means anyone can use it. It'll still be tied up in trademark, which would make doing anything with it problematic at best.

And public domain only really applies to certain versions of the character - which is why you can technically do anything you want with Wizard of Oz (which is public domain), but still can't have ruby slippers (which were introduced in the 1937 movie, which isn't public domain). Steamboat Willie may go into public domain next year, but only that specific version of Mickey would count for it.

What makes it even more complicated is that something can technically be public domain in one place but not in another, so you have to be really careful if you plan to do something with a work. It's possible that Steamboat Willie will still be under copyright in Europe until 2036 or even 2041, for instance (depending on how things are interpreted).

Basically, copyright is kind of a mess.



Zareth posted...

As if Disney won't spend millions in bribes to prevent that

They already have. It's the only reason Mickey is still under copyright at all. They've been bribing people for decades now to keep pushing back the copyright expiration date.

The problem is, they've kind of pushed it to the limit of what they can get away with, and probably won't be able to do it again. So they're going to shift to entirely different tactics to make it difficult to ever really do anything with their properties.

Which is actually part of why they've been doing the live-action Disney movies - it's a way of exploiting copyright to keep those specific characters and their look under copyright even once the original cartoons expire (starting with Snow White in about 10 years).