movies

22542 readers

42 users here now

Rules for Movies & TV Discussion

Any discussion of Disney properties should contain a (cw: imperialism) tag. If your post isn't tagged appropriately it will be removed.
Anti-Bong Joon-ho trolling will result in an immediate ban from c/movies and submitted to the site administrators for review.
On Star Trek Sunday only posts discussing how we might achieve space communism are permitted. Non-Star Trek related content will be removed and you will be temporarily banned until the following Sunday.

Here's a list of tons of leftist movies.

AVATAR 3

Perverts Guide to Ideology

founded 4 years ago

MODERATORS

[email protected]

112

Studios racing to make Steamboat Willie going public domain become gauche as fast as possible (hexbear.net)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

53 comments fedilink hide all child comments

https://nitter.net/DiscussingFilm/status/1742188058001256615

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Is that the case? The way it was explained to me is that Mickey Mouse the character is still under trademark, but the short film Steamboat Willie is what falls under public domain now. I was told as an example that one couldn't use Mickey Mouse as a logo, but could make derivative works of Steamboat Willie.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

You can take Mickey from Steamboat Willie, make him wink, give him tie-dye shorts and pink skin, and use him as the logo Mickey Dishwasher Soap—you can't use him as is for a trademark because it's too generic.

You can't use his ears for an animation studio or a TV channel because it's easy to confuse with Disney's trademarks.

Trademarks are limited by category (which is why Apple Computer got into a lawsuit with Apple Records only after Apple Computer launched iTunes, before it was perfectly fair) and enforced on similarity. Also a trademark has to be distinct but doesn't have to be original, you can use a bitten apple as a trademark but you can't copyright that shape.

Edit: another difference between trademarks and copyright is that you never lose the copyright, but you must keep enforcing a trademark. If you let your brand become the generic term for a product, if you let others use your mark without suing them, then you lose the rights over the name.