21–30 of 221 posts
According to what is stated to be a 1928 poster, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mickey-mouse-poster_n_2149610 , he is depicted with a red shirt, white buttons, yellow gloves, and brown shoes.
On the other hand, Disney itself is a talented and successful practitioner of building upon the public domain. In fact, the public domain is Disney’s bread and butter. Frozen was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. The Lion King draws from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Biblical stories, and possibly an epic poem about the founder of the Mali Empire.[3] Fantasia showcases public domain classical music, and “…
Wasn't The Lion King a rip off of the Japanese anime Kimba? https://12tomatoes.com/kimba-similarity-lion-king/
Was there a copyright reason for Disney changing their opening logo sequence to the steamboat willy thing? Some kind of "it's now our trademark" claim?
> Disney has also started using this logo before some of its films.
> If you make your own Mickey cartoon, can Disney use trademark law to interfere? Trademark law is all about preventing consumer confusion – and not about getting in the way of creativity – so it depends on whether people are likely to be misled about the source of your cartoon. As long as no one thinks it is a Disney joint, there should not be a trademark problem.
On the other hand, Disney itself is a talented and successful practitioner of building upon the public domain. In fact, the public domain is Disney’s bread and butter. Frozen was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. The Lion King draws from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Biblical stories, and possibly an epic poem about the founder of the Mali Empire.[3] Fantasia showcases public domain classical music, and “…
I was curious so I researched some more. The story of the founding of the Mali Empire is often told through the epic of Sundiata - born frail and unable to walk, Sundiata faced scorn from his half-brothers in the Mandinka kingdom. Guided by a prophetic destiny, Sundiata and his mother were exiled after the death of his father. During his exile, Sundiata transformed into a formidable leader, forming alliances and gathering supporters. He returned to the kingdom, defeated the oppressive forces and established the Mali Empire
My pet theory is that the only reason we didn't see a copyright extension act this year, like we've seen every time Steamboat Willy was about to enter the public domain in the past, is that Disney ended up on one side of the culture wars with what went on in Florida. It's far more difficult to get bipartisan support for robbing the public of what should be in the public domain once you've involved yourself in partisa…
My pet theory is that the only reason we didn't see a copyright extension act this year, like we've seen every time Steamboat Willy was about to enter the public domain in the past, is that Disney ended up on one side of the culture wars with what went on in Florida. It's far more difficult to get bipartisan support for robbing the public of what should be in the public domain once you've involved yourself in partisa…
Was there a copyright reason for Disney changing their opening logo sequence to the steamboat willy thing? Some kind of "it's now our trademark" claim?
I've seen a lot of speculation that they've been slowly pivoting Steamboat Willie in preparation to use trademark litigation where copyright will no longer be effective.
Disney putting Steamboat Willie in their logo is unlikely to actually allow Disney to effectively extend restrictions on the cartoon—but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a calculated move to deter people from reproducing Steamboat Willie after its liberation simply by the implicit threat of expensive litigation from a very large team of lawyers.
My pet theory is that the only reason we didn't see a copyright extension act this year, like we've seen every time Steamboat Willy was about to enter the public domain in the past, is that Disney ended up on one side of the culture wars with what went on in Florida. It's far more difficult to get bipartisan support for robbing the public of what should be in the public domain once you've involved yourself in partisa…
What exactly went on in Florida? Sorry, I'm not across this.
My pet theory is that the only reason we didn't see a copyright extension act this year, like we've seen every time Steamboat Willy was about to enter the public domain in the past, is that Disney ended up on one side of the culture wars with what went on in Florida. It's far more difficult to get bipartisan support for robbing the public of what should be in the public domain once you've involved yourself in partisa…
The first one was when the Copyright Act of 1909 was replaced with the Copyright Act of 1976. Between 1909 and 1976 there had been a lot of changes in technology, such as the rise of radio, TV, movies, and computers, and it was widely agreed that the 1909 Act was not up to handling it. Also international distribution was more common, and most thought the US needed its copyright law to be more compatible with the rest of the world. The 1976 Act started that harmonization (although it left a lot of it for the Berne Implementation Act of 1988).
The second was the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998. That one Disney was a significant force in its creation and passing.