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Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

bbc.com

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Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#111

Post by xorcist »

Caligatio wrote: post #31
weinzierl wrote: post #29

Before people cheer too much, surprisingly works can retroactively be snatched back from the public domain and go back into copyrighted state. The prime example is the movie Metropolis . It became public domain in 1953 but copyright was restored in 1996 only to re-enter the public domain a year ago today.

This intrigues me as I had no idea, at one time, that the US didn't have the most restrictive copyright laws in the world. It looks like the US had to restore/extend copyrights to foreign works as part of the agreement that established the WTO? That being said, copyright is a product of laws and laws can always change. Your comment made me believe that the copyright owner somehow extended their rights; not a literal…

Read up on the history of Hollywood! It's deeply intertwined with the history of copyright.

Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#112

Post by cool_dude85 »

8organicbits wrote: post #101
cool_dude85 wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Mickey's a big one targeted at little kids. His clubhouse, funhouse, roadster racers, etc. are very popular with that demo, I assure you.

Huh, I have two young children. No idea what those are. We use Disney Plus almost exclusively for Bluey and Frozen. Is that also Disney Plus?

Stay away if possible, especially clubhouse which does the "the characters talk to the child and ask them questions" thing that I personally hate. But yes, at least in the US they're all on plus.

Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#113

Post by jncfhnb »

jabl wrote: post #107
jncfhnb wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like an awfully dangerous game to play imo.

Isn't that the point? Disney counts on having more $$$ and more lawyers than some random artist who might or might not have intruded on the remaining copyrights? So they can bully the artist into submission regardless of whether they are right or not.

They can do so, for minimal gain. And it’s possible they’ll lose despite $$$ which would be worse than having done nothing.

Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#114

Post by edgyquant »

datadeft wrote: post #51
praptak wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Retroactive copyright extensions are changing the deal after it has been made, for the benefit of copyright holders and to the detriment of the public. This is unethical. That's why I get angry when copyright holders try to make ethical arguments against piracy.

> Retroactive copyright extensions It is kind of amazing how IP holders could pull this off. One of the foundations of law that you cannot make retroactive changes.

This is only a foundation in US law and even then only for criminal law.

Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#115

Post by ProjectArcturis »

BeFlatXIII wrote: post #95
mod50ack wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Before people cheer too much, surprisingly works can retroactively be snatched back from the public domain and go back into copyrighted state. The United States is decidedly not going to extend copyright terms. The US only very reluctantly pulled works out of the public domain after it joined the Berne Convention in 1989. The reason ''Metropolis'' was in the public domain was because it failed to comply with renewa…

> Essentially, other countries threatened trade deals if the US made terms dependent on formalities for non-US works. So the law was changed and copyrights were restored. Congress should have grown a spine and called their bluff rather than sell out the American public like that.

I'd rather Congress adhere to the agreements they made.

Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#116

Post by devilbunny »

RyanHamilton wrote: post #68
nonrandomstring wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Plato, the Bible, and Shakespeare > inescapable part of our common heritage Indeed, but how? The three circles of Mickey Mouse is the semiotic emblem for everything that is shallow, plastic, maudlin and sentimental, self-obsessed, cynically capitalistic and exploitative. In British (army and construction worker culture) the phrase "Mickey Mouse" is used for anything that's an ineffectual toy or poorly manufactured.…

Many adults of a certain age will have very happy childhood memories of watching classic disney movies such as jungle book, cinderella, toy story, Lion King. Most creative companies would love to have the kind of love that disneys back catalog has. Alas this love does mean the easy ability to sell plastic toys for every film.

Toy Story and Lion King are classics now? Damn, I’m old.

Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#117

Post by est31 »

mod50ack wrote: post #56
weinzierl wrote: post #29

Before people cheer too much, surprisingly works can retroactively be snatched back from the public domain and go back into copyrighted state. The prime example is the movie Metropolis . It became public domain in 1953 but copyright was restored in 1996 only to re-enter the public domain a year ago today.

> Before people cheer too much, surprisingly works can retroactively be snatched back from the public domain and go back into copyrighted state. The United States is decidedly not going to extend copyright terms. The US only very reluctantly pulled works out of the public domain after it joined the Berne Convention in 1989. The reason ''Metropolis'' was in the public domain was because it failed to comply with renewa…

The USA often ignores the international community in many things, if the right domestic interest groups are behind it. It's just that currently the USA has powerful domestic companies/interests that are against copyright term extensions, which are more powerful than the (also quite powerful) companies in favour of term extensions.

In the past decade, the USA also has tried to spread the new extended period over the world via trade treaties, of life plus 70 years, going beyond Berne's life plus 50 years.

Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#118

Post by edgyquant »

harimau777 wrote: post #82
pasiaj wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The law is the will of ”we”. ”They” can’t change the law – only ”we” can.

Due to gerrymandering, the electoral college, weak campaign finance laws, etc. that's not the case in the United States.

What does the electoral college have to do with legislation? Sounds like you’re just regurgitating a sound bite to me

Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#119

Post by coliveira »

buran77 wrote: post #48
Phiwise_ wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have a deal with a copyright holder? Have you considered taking them to court over it? I'd donate to help get you what their contract owes you, and I'm sure others would, too.

You only have a very weak negotiating power and only during the election campaign while copyright holders have very, very strong negotiation power (money) all the time. So they can change the law whenever and however they want to. Your "contract" with the lawmakers can change at any time regardless of your (or the majority's) wishes, which on the face of it is extremely undemocratic. So the "take them to court" strat…

This is exactly why "democracy" and "capitalism" are impossible to fully exist side by side. Capitalism rules necessarily destroy democracy because its basis is the accumulation of money and power by a few. On the other hand, perfect democracy will give people the power to remove the money privilege of the few through taxes and policies (the founding founders already knew this). The idea that we have democracy in a capitalist system is the peak of stupidity, because people are deceiving themselves about being free, when in fact they're just doing the bidding of the super rich.

Re: Disney's earliest Mickey Mouse enters public domain as US copyright expires

#120

Post by anticensor »

edgyquant wrote: post #114
datadeft wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Retroactive copyright extensions It is kind of amazing how IP holders could pull this off. One of the foundations of law that you cannot make retroactive changes.

This is only a foundation in US law and even then only for criminal law.

Not only US. There are many other countries that forbid retroactive laws.
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