This is an ongoing open question in intellectual property law. A lot of people seem to think Disney (and other companies in similar situations) will find a way to continue to extend their rights past whatever dates are established by current laws. They have the money, means, and desire to do so, the thought that it should become public when its clearly still in use is a bit questionable
tl;dr: It probably won't become public domain like other stuff has, Disney is a monster in the legal world and ain't letting that happen.
He won't. Congress will continue giving Disney an exemption.
Brody Ross
Who cares? I hope copyright is made permanent. Pirates have ruined everything anyway. The law should bear down.
Carter Roberts
Wait, how this law works, something can stop being your property after some time in US?
David Mitchell
>Disney ever giving up one of its biggest assets for free He won't become public domain until the moment they can't make a dime out of the Mouse anymore, so not in the next decades
Liam Jackson
I mean why the fuck would this enter public domain. They still actively use it and market it on TV, merchandise etc. He's the fucking mascot for their entire business.
>yeah sorry about that little mouse you have been actively using since you made it, it has been xxxx amount of years you must now let 3rd worlders profit off it
Jackson Walker
bob iger is trumps boy
Aiden Kelly
I'm sure Walt has other things to worry about.
William Hughes
Yes. Unless you have loads of money and can use lobbyists to buy Congress.
Which is what Disney will do. Sad, stifles growth an change....
Leo Price
Regarding Intellectual Property, something becomes in the public domain after X years, so I won't have to pay money (royalties)to the creator of the intellectual property ( in this case Disney) whenever I want to make use of said Intellectual Property (Mickey Mouse, so for instance selling jars with Mickey on them)
Adrian Stewart
Basically the idea is that if you've been dead for a really fucking long time then it's no longer possible for you as an individual to profit off the idea and use that profit to create further successful ideas, and thus it's better for society as a whole if it falls into the possession of the general public (for example all those works of literature such as Shakespare or Dickens which are freely and readily available)
James Lopez
They'll get the term extended, even though nobody gives a shit about Mickey Mouse as a character anymore.
Jacob Turner
It should have been public domain decades ago, Disney are the ones who keep getting the duration of copyright extended.
Chase Evans
but arent trademarks renewable forever?
its not strictly a question of copyright
Alexander Bailey
AFAIK, things like songs become public domain 70 or 80 years after the last person who had a part in its creation dies
Daniel Rivera
This is different. Disney is still a company that uses the mouse on everything. Shakespeare has been dead for years and his shit would be irrelevant if it wasn't public domain.
Justin Jones
Fuck communism
Daniel Wood
I don't know what's worse. Sup Forums discussing legal matters or Sup Forums discussing finance/economics
Samuel Evans
In six years? How long does Disney wait to make their move in these cases? 6 years seems a little short to change these laws.
Connor Smith
disney built its success on public domain, it's only fair for others to use the mickeyverse :)
David King
fuck off back to your game of thrones or doctor who containment boards fucking faggot
Jeremiah Robinson
It was really stupid of him not to start The Shakespeare Corporation and have the rights for all time because companies are like Gods to Americans.
Brandon Edwards
Fuck you lifted this straight from reddit.
Matthew Bailey
But I read an infographic that said public domain is a communist thing.
Daniel Nelson
Disney could trademark his design. Wouldn't be too hard.
They would just have to show that they regularly use Mickey mouse in the running of their business
Josiah Bailey
I thought these laws only apply to the films/shorts and not the character itself.
Like how Superman Fleischer shorts are public domain but Superman himself isn't.
Bentley King
>people who consume media must be brainlets with no careers sorry your cunny threads are being removed
Adrian Scott
Another reason why it will be extended is that royalty payments are a phenomenal way to dodge taxation. Let's say Disney Holding ownts the IP on Mickey and Disney Japan wants to sell Mickey dolls, Disney Japan has to pay Disney holding a sum in royalties. The trick is determining the proper price of the roaylties, because we are dealing with an intercompany transaction so the free market isn't here to determine its price. This is the area of Transfer Pricing and literally every big multinational uses this as a tool to hide taxes (what usually happens is that they place the company that owns the IP right in a country without a tax on royalties, the Nethertlands for instance, and they determine a price for the royalties that is so high that the company paying the royalties will barely make a profit on for instance in this scenario selling the dolls. But that doesn't matter as they all are part of one big multinational)
Daniel Williams
Fuck off corporate cocksucker
Jason Clark
Believe it or not the op is actually a Sup Forumsedditor you can tell by how surface level the post is
Michael Roberts
Even if Mickey does enter the public domain it really doesn't mean much at this point. Disney will still use him and people will buy their Mickey products because they have the air of originality and authenticity. People already bootleg and steal Disney properties out the ass. This would just be one they could do it with legally now.
Daniel Kelly
>live in Orlando >our new county property appraiser is a poo-in-the-loo who takes no shit from anyone >gave disney a tax bill based on the value of their theme parks as reported in their public financial statements >disney is crying and saying their parks are only worth a few million instead of a few billion >poo-in-the-loo refuses to budge >disney now got the governor fighting for them
Fuck Disney.
Bentley Barnes
>I thought these laws only apply to the films/shorts and not the character itself.
This, everybody else in the thread doesn't know what the fuck they're talking about. Mickey Mouse is not going to enter public domain, just his first movie (and after a while the next movie and so on).
Cameron Morris
That's not how it works retard. Walt probably transferred his intellectual ownership over to Disney (the company is a legal entity) before he died. The company itself owns the intellectual property of Mickey Mouse.
This only applies to stuff like music and etc because the only intellectual owner is the person who made it.
Christian Mitchell
It's a symbolic thing. Disney are terrified that they'll somehow lose money if other people can profit on Mickey, so they push through changes to all the copyright laws they can in the hopes of preventing it, it won't effect them but it will effect real media. Imagine what the cultural landscape would look like if nobody except the Estate of Bram Stoker could use vampires, for example.
Nobody cares about their cartoon mouse, but the fact that nothing of significance has entered the public domain in decades is largely as a result of their actions.
Charles Ross
>Shakespeare >American Decent/10
Hudson Ortiz
75 years after the creator if said property has died it will become public domain.
Jordan Cox
Yeah nobody gives a shit about steamboat mickey film.
But in 20 years time Cinderella and Snow white films are up to public domain.
Significant dvd sales
Aiden Moore
Will they ever give us a Steamboat Willy reboot?
Gabriel Brooks
Lol none of the shit Disney has will ever go into public domain. They're a multi billion dollar company with top legal assets.
Oliver Barnes
>Reading comprehension/10 Do you think Disney is going through British courts?
Chase Lee
Disney's reanimated corpse will bribe congress to extend copyright to three centuries
Jack Miller
Wait a sec doesn´t that mean that all those Pre-Mickey shorts are already in the public domain as we speak?
I think they are in some countries, not in the US, though.
Brandon Rivera
And I would argue that Disney should be exempt. The company still stands today and is still working with the character. I don't see how putting Mickey in public domain would benefit general society either. Because people are already creating tons of work using him, Disney is not going after them. They would howe've would not be happy if another company created a movie or tv show using him.
Noah Thompson
It won't, Disney runs copyright law Everyone knows this, look up copyright law changes with the history of Mickey Moises copyright
Eli Roberts
So which other iconic IPs are going public in coming years?
Benjamin Carter
These guys don't know what they're talking about, public domain is public domain, every aspect of them belongs to us all. You can get around this though:
>The use of trademark law to protect works also subject to copyright is nothing new. The first 21 stories about Tarzan, being first published commencing in 1916, are now all in the public domain. Yet, there are no rival stories about Tarzan being currently written by other authors. This is because heirs of Edgar Rice Burroughs, the creator of Tarzan, had the foresight to obtain a trademark on the name “Tarzan.”. Armed with this registration, they have been successful in preventing the distribution of works using the “Tarzan” trademark and variations.
Cooper Reed
most films from 1920s-1930s
Brody Ramirez
Mickey Mouse is a trademark. Trademarks don't go in the public domain.
Ryder Williams
That's what I said, Mickey Mouse is trademarked so the character himself will never enter public domain, just the works he's featured in.
Matthew Nguyen
Who do you want to direct the first official unofficial Mickey Mouse film when he goes public domain? I'd like to see Zack Snyder's take on the character.
Adrian Cooper
>Who cares? Clearly you do.
Joseph Price
>Shakespeare has been dead for years and his shit would be irrelevant if it wasn't public domain.
What did he mean by this?
Lucas Allen
He means that he's so american that he thinks a cartoon mouse drawn by a jewish man is more important than the author who shaped the very language he speaks./
David Rogers
>company still stands today
So what? The author is dead. If Disney is exempt then anyone can create a company to hold intellectual property forever and nothing will ever enter the public domain. The whole notion of copyright was a mistake.
Christopher Cooper
>What will happen to Mickey Mouse when he becomes public domain in 2023?
disney will buy the fucking government
United States of Disney, here we come.
Jose King
if Republishits continue to control congress there's no way
Joseph Richardson
They'll keep extending it.
Caleb Wilson
Shakespear is popular because his works are taught at school
but if schools had to pay royalties to use his content, they would opt for a free alternative, therefore shakespeare works wouldn't be as popular
Isaac Collins
Prepare for a new Mickey movie or show.
Eli Sullivan
>Sony Bono act
FUCKING THANKS YOU TWAT
Caleb Ortiz
Can't you update a copyright?
Hunter Wood
Braindead op literally copied the entire paragraph from reddit. You suck.
Mason Gonzalez
Who cares? No really, I know Mickey is symbol of Disney, but lets face it he is not that important today.
Colton Torres
people think this will somehow save Mickey, when reality is we'll just get even more horrendous Mickey shit
Luke Torres
Why should it become public domain? It's still in use by the company that owns and created it...
Jeremiah Parker
What other brands or characters are going to expire soon? Is there a list somewhere?
Joseph Peterson
>company created it
People created it. Companies can't create, only own.
Ryan Evans
Government will extend the copyright, spouting some bullshit about not having an American icon be perverted through other businesses. Possible bullshit about brand damage through outside usages affecting Disney jobs.
Matthew Collins
If the company's goal is to produce, and it collectively aims the goals and progress of its employees in order to make shareholders happy, hasn't it more than contributed in creating it?
Ian Robinson
No. Individual artists create, the company only pays for it.
Benjamin Gomez
If I remember correctly Sherlock Holmes was one of the last things to enter public domain. Everything else is stuck in the pipe after Mickey.
Benjamin Baker
fuck off shill.
Disney has taken full advantage of previous expired copyrights without “paying into the system” with its own original characters.
Eli Campbell
It was made by a guy who created the company though, if he wanted to use his creation to promote his own company and its still going strong then why should they have to forfeit their legitimate claim to its ownership? Also, companies definitely create, thinking only individuals create is taking things too literal. People will make things with the intention of making a company better and not for their own benefit all the fucking time
Carson Scott
exactly.
allowing things to go into public domain fuels people to create more.
Copyright stifles creativity and denies us of our heritage from our ancestors.
Joseph Cooper
>disney shilling at full force >all websites have like 15 paid articles about disney products
Owen Collins
>While Disney continues to ardently fight for copyright legislation, more than 50 of its own films -- including blockbusters like Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Frozen, and The Lion King -- are based on works in the public domain:
Nathaniel Johnson
>since you made it Walt's been dead for years, m8.
Alexander Rodriguez
Ya, so why should they have to give up their own creations to public domain when they clearly own them. It's clever business not unethical. Besides if they could pay off the creator of Arabian nights they'd have probably just done that instead. Disney will get what I wants and that'd not a bad thing, they're an amazing business and anyone who can't acknowledge that is just a salty cynic who disregards any business aspect of art
Adam Parker
Because the guy is dead. The company is his creation, Mickey Mouse is his creation. Why should one of his creations own another forever?
>thinking only individuals create is taking things too literal
It's literal because copyright was founded to protect the content creators, not companies. Generally speaking, the whole notion of owning ideas is bonkers and should be abolished ASAP.
Connor Ward
Basically you can use something after OPs death and not pay royalties. Lots of Youtube channels, sitcoms and modern music use music and sounds from as early as the 1940s now
Kayden Torres
Sure, but if it went to public domain everyone would go back to give a fuck. I mean, if you had the chance wouldn't you fuck around with it?
William Gonzalez
DON'T WORRY
ITS ALL PAID FOR
Ayden Foster
Haven't you heard? Corporations are people in these here United Sates of America. Praise Citizens United!
Jaxon Smith
I don't know why Disney keep wasting millions greasing the wheels to ruin copyright law for generations to come, nobody even cares about Mickey fucking Mouse anymore.
Sebastian Ward
>anyone who can't acknowledge that is a shrewd consumer who wants higher quality for smaller price like any economically savvy individual should
fix'd
Carter Ward
But it cares for its other properties.
Sure they don't car about people watching steamboat willie mickey mouse for free...
...but what about when Cinderella, Aladdin and Snow White come up fro public domain.
Lots of money in merchandising and film rights all lost.
John Perez
BASED PAJEET
Ryan Mitchell
>it only takes a few million dollars to control congress What the FUCK. Disney is a multi-billion dollar company, and it only takes that much?
Isaac James
I'm not sure folklore concepts and creatures can be trademarked.
Dylan James
>the only correct answer in this thread
Luke Cooper
On a specific issue where there is little organized/funded resistance? Yeah.
Most people are unaware and unconcerned about copyright law (as evidenced by this thread) despite the huge impact it has on their lives.
Jose King
This tbqh. Almost 100 posts and only 2-3 people can actually grasp the difference between copyright and trademarks.
Joshua Gutierrez
The whole mind state disney/corporations have the general populace in about copyright nowadays is totally fucked.
Ryder James
If they happen to be created in the 20/21st century, they sure as fuck can.
Nathan Cruz
How many rupee per post do you get paid?
Anthony Perry
What does copyright have to do with ticket prices? Are you trying to say that Disney will eventually own and monopolize everything?