Quote:
Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore
Could there be a way to turn this into an advantage by allowing Congress to pull Mickey out of the public domain while still retaining some sense of reason in copyright terms? If they can just placate the mouse company, maybe they can allow other things to enter into the public domain as they normally would, so that extensions on ALL works are not necessary.
Luqman
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Well on that front maybe the laws need to change what public domain means.
Maybe entering the public domain should just mean that that book/movie/tv show/music etc. can be copied and distributed freely.
But not that people can freely use those characters etc. for new products etc.--if that's what the Mickey Mouse case is about.
I'd be ok with that. The public domain should be out free access to old works--not allowing people who lack imagination to use a popular character to sell no works instead of creating their own characters.
One can still plagiarize something in the public domain--having it freely available shouldn't mean you can take it and use the characters and other distinct things in your own work etc. IMO.