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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

#191

Post by andrei_says_ »

Another way to frame this is - Disney has decided to not extend the copyright laws for all Americans and let this happen.

The damage of the multiple extensions the company has already forced on all of us are devastating.

Multiple times Disney has changed the law to extend copyright provisions and allow it and other corporations to take without giving back, siphoning value out of the public domain for decades upon decades.

We have paid a hefty price for their profits, over and over again.

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

#192

Post by coolandsmartrr »

hgs3 wrote: post #165

Disney's been using public domain works for decades (Snow White, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, etc). It's only fair they give back.

I believe it was Larry Lessig who pointed out Disney's double standard: their enthusiasm in adapting stories in public domain vs being highly protective of their own works.

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

#193

Post by hbs18 »

sangnoir wrote: post #183
josho wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Disney has modern Mickey wrapped up in trademarks. It will be very interesting watching what Disney does when inevitably derivative works stray from steamboat Willie and approach the appearance of modern mickey. Disney has been preparing for this day.

I suspect that is why Disney has been using Steamboat Willy as its production logo in recent years. Let's wait to see how it shakes out in the courts - but perhaps the threats will be enough.

They might have a harder time fighting the use of Steamboat Willy considering that a trademark has less restrictions on its use than a copyrighted work.

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

#194

Post by BeFlatXIII »

ProjectArcturis wrote: post #115
BeFlatXIII wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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.

If a future Congress cannot secure the votes to pass the necessary laws to implement a treaty their predecessors [or the House refuses to implement a treaty the Senate] ratified, who is at fault?

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

#195

Post by harimau777 »

edgyquant wrote: post #118
harimau777 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

The electoral college determines who becomes president and the president has the overt power to veto bills and the more subtle ability to influence the government's agenda.

The number of electoral votes a state has is also equal to the number of representatives that they send to congress. So the unbalanced distribution of electors also reflects an unbalanced distribution of representatives.

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

#196

Post by harimau777 »

Detrytus wrote: post #174
underlipton wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

President can veto laws. President has the bully pulpit and gets things on and off the agenda. Twice in my lifetime has the candidate who won the popular vote lost the presidency, with massive ramifications for the country I live in. I'm not endorsing GP's point, but the electoral college is massively important to legislation.

> Twice in my lifetime has the candidate who won the popular vote lost the presidency, with massive ramifications for the country I live in. I see this repeated often, and I need to say it's bullshit. The rules of presidential elections are known to the general public, which affects voters behavior, i.e. Republican voters in California might not even bother voting, since they stand no chance of affecting the results.…

That's a reasonable point, but I don't think that changes the underlying issue: some votes count more than others.

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

#197

Post by nemo44x »

8organicbits wrote: post #104
nemo44x wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m assuming you don’t have kids? Little kids love Mickey Mouse and there’s lots of old and new content featuring him. Little kids still dream of going to Disney World to meet Mickey Mouse and the other characters.

Two kids 5 and 7. Where are you finding the content? I don't think it aired when I was a kid, and I don't think it's on Disney Plus.

I think it’s on Disney+. If I have to hear “hot dog hot hot diggity dog” one more time…

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

#198

Post by sangnoir »

hbs18 wrote: post #193
sangnoir wrote: post #183

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect that is why Disney has been using Steamboat Willy as its production logo in recent years. Let's wait to see how it shakes out in the courts - but perhaps the threats will be enough.

They might have a harder time fighting the use of Steamboat Willy considering that a trademark has less restrictions on its use than a copyrighted work.

That they get to fight at all may be the reasoning.

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

#199

Post by guidoism »

RyanHamilton wrote: post #69
chungy wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People often think that old video must be stuck to standard definition (or worse), because they're used to seeing it on NTSC/PAL broadcasts, VHS, or DVD. The reality is, these things were captured on film, and there's no reason you can't scan the film in high definition resolutions. Film is an analogue medium whose upper bound for resolution is dictated by the film stock and grain; 35mm film is sufficient to produce…

Thanks for mentioning Oz, that 4K is really good. Hopefully more films get that treatment.

Really cool seeing some old music videos that were originally shot in film get the rescan update. I watched Beat It on YouTube the other day and was amazed by the quality.

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

#200

Post by underlipton »

Detrytus wrote: post #174
underlipton wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

President can veto laws. President has the bully pulpit and gets things on and off the agenda. Twice in my lifetime has the candidate who won the popular vote lost the presidency, with massive ramifications for the country I live in. I'm not endorsing GP's point, but the electoral college is massively important to legislation.

> Twice in my lifetime has the candidate who won the popular vote lost the presidency, with massive ramifications for the country I live in. I see this repeated often, and I need to say it's bullshit. The rules of presidential elections are known to the general public, which affects voters behavior, i.e. Republican voters in California might not even bother voting, since they stand no chance of affecting the results.…

>I see this repeated often, and I need to say it's bullshit.

It's an objective truth. You can qualify it if you like.

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