51–60 of 201 posts
So the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, who died in 1973, will enter the public domain in New Zealand (and other countries) next year? Or do they not, as he presumably published his works in the UK? Or they enter the public domain in New Zealand et al. but not in other countries?
What would be the New Zealand connection of Tolkien (other than the peter jackson movies)?
Will software become “public domain” over time?
Yes. In the US this happens 95 years after the initial creation of the software. Many other countries match this time period. Other countries may recognize a shorter copyright, but I believe no country will recognize a longer one.
That's for 2005. For today's software that depend on connectivity, nobody gets anything if the clients are pushed to public domain. You still lack the entire infrastructure. The server code is not a product, its a service implemented by the proprietor, that's beyond this law.
Will software become “public domain” over time?
That's what abandonware was all about. If you don't support or sell the software any more, it becomes public domain. But it was a idealistic view not accounting for the future. Today you can run virtualized anything anywhere. The software companies can claim 80s software still being usable because they can deploy it that way. We considered that console game ROMs will become public domain because once the console life…
In what jurisdiction? Definitely not the US or any of its major economic partners, at least.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> It was close to entering the public domain in the U.S. several times: each time, copyright protection was extended. It could have entered the public domain in four different years: first in 1955, renewed to 1986, then to 2003 by the Copyright Act of 1976, and then to 2023 by the Copyright Term Extension Act (also known pejoratively as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act”) of 1998. It has been claimed that these extens…
So now we can begin to undo all the damage Disney has done by extending copyright beyond any reasonable timeframe, right?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's almost the most infuriating thing about their copyright grabs; it hardly even gets them anything of interest. They're not making any money on the actual Steamboat Willie movie. We're still a ways away from anything of even modest commercial interest from Disney entering the public domain, and even when Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs does finally come into public domain, I can't imagine it meaningfully affects…
> Meanwhile, to keep this at-best modestly interesting historical film locked up Well, it's not just the film, it's also everything in it, including (that design of) the characters themselves. When that enters the public domain, anyone can use (that design of) those characters for any purpose, including in their own works that have nothing to do with the Steamboat film. I can go make a platforming video game ala Cuph…
I kind of expect them to win that. But maybe they won't. Still, I wouldn't touch Mickey with anything less than the metaphorical ten foot pole and a really, really solidly constructed LLC or other corporate structure isolating it from any other asset I care about.
Note I am limiting this to just things they have clear trademark to. Grab the steamboat itself and do as you like. The soundtrack will be up for grabs. But I wouldn't expect to be able to defend myself in a trademark suit with the claim that the Mickey Mouse I used is not copyrighted; I expect the counterargument will basically "Yeah, but who cares? This is a trademark lawsuit".
I have started a book publishing company that publishes new, public domain books only:
Earlier quoted context omitted.
The oldest still in effect copyright I know of is from 1611: the King James translation of the bible is still copyright of the crown in the UK. No other country recognizes that copyright.
So I can get a King James Bible easy peasy pretty much anywhere in the world except in James' home country. High larious.
What if we didn't wait for things to enter the public domain but instead they were born right into it? I have started a book publishing company that publishes new, public domain books only: https://laniakeabooks.org/
What if we didn't wait for things to enter the public domain but instead they were born right into it? I have started a book publishing company that publishes new, public domain books only: https://laniakeabooks.org/
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Someone pointed out to me that Winnie the Pooh brings in more money than Mickey, and his copyright is just about the same timeframe. Everyone assumes The Mouse is what Disney is shitting bricks over and it's just as likely it's the silly ol' bear instead.
Hmm I’m not sure - that might be true for movies but is it true for merch? Think of all the Mickey ears that get sold at the parks. Either way there is a boatload of Mickey related revenue still…