Happy Public Domain Day!

[Vakanai]

I know this might not mean a lot to some people. But being in the public domain and available to everyone is something that helps classic characters stay relevant. Can you imagine if people had to negotiate licenses and pay money to the latest descendant of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle every time someone used Sherlock Holmes? Or if someone needed to pay the still existing estate of Bram Stoker every time someone wanted to use Dracula? The characters would be used a lot less.

I don't know about that, there hasn't been worthwhile Dracula content in ages it feels like. Maybe if a company owned him we'd see a lot more new stuff out there, like how Batman is in a few animated DTV films every year. Or Scooby-Doo. Seriously, with series and DTVs I have trouble keeping up with all the new content of these two characters. I think the only good thing to come out for Dracula this decade is that Castlevania cartoon (you could throw Untold in if you want to, and that 1 TV series that got canceled with just 1 season). And the decade before that there was the lukewarm Van Helsing, a not really Dracula version from Blade Trinity, and possibly the only good appearance then the Hellsing anime and OVA (seriously, is Japan the only place that still gets Dracula?).

Then again, Sherlock has had a huge resurgence this last decade (Elementary, the BBC series, the 2 RDJ films, the Sir Ian McKellan movie, Holmes and Watson). So maybe it's just sort of a mixed deal? I don't know.
But I want some decent Dracula stuff, and some animated Sherlock darn it.

[Osiris-Rex]

I don't know about that, there hasn't been worthwhile Dracula content in ages it feels like. Maybe if a company owned him we'd see a lot more new stuff out there, like how Batman is in a few animated DTV films every year. Or Scooby-Doo. Seriously, with series and DTVs I have trouble keeping up with all the new content of these two characters. I think the only good thing to come out for Dracula this decade is that Castlevania cartoon (you could throw Untold in if you want to, and that 1 TV series that got canceled with just 1 season). And the decade before that there was the lukewarm Van Helsing, a not really Dracula version from Blade Trinity, and possibly the only good appearance then the Hellsing anime and OVA (seriously, is Japan the only place that still gets Dracula?).

I guess I was one of the few people who liked the Dracula TV series on NBC back in 2013. I also liked the movie Dracula Untold back in 2014. Maybe because the sort of tried to make him a real person in the real world instead
of some mysterious figure hiding in the shadows of a haunted castle.

[Pinsir]

A lot of the early Disney stuff may already be public domain in Canada as here its Life +50 after the death of the author (not 70 like in USA), though its for all parties involved in the creation in the product, which is why it may be difficult to sus out which works are PD and which aren't.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

A lot of the early Disney stuff may already be public domain in Canada as here its Life +50 after the death of the author (not 70 like in USA), though its for all parties involved in the creation in the product, which is why it may be difficult to sus out which works are PD and which aren't.

For the Disney stuff, in America, it wouldn't be life of Author + 70 years because the Disney stuff is corporate owned work-for hire (like the DC/Marvel stuff). Therefore, it's a straight 95 years from first publication.

Therefore, Action Comics 1, published in 1938 will expire at the end of its 95th year in 2033 and enter public domain on Jan 1, 2034 in the US.

Does Canada make a distinction in their copyright law between works produced by an author and corporate-owned works produced under work-for-hire?

[JKtheMac]

One day the Mickey Mouse act will be tested properly and I really hope it falls apart. I am amazed it has lasted this long.

[Pinsir]

For the Disney stuff, in America, it wouldn't be life of Author + 70 years because the Disney stuff is corporate owned work-for hire (like the DC/Marvel stuff). Therefore, it's a straight 95 years from first publication.

Therefore, Action Comics 1, published in 1938 will expire at the end of its 95th year in 2033 and enter public domain on Jan 1, 2034 in the US.

Does Canada make a distinction in their copyright law between works produced by an author and corporate-owned works produced under work-for-hire?

It does, but from what I can gather even for work-for-hire material the copyright still lasts for an author's life +50 years, even if the creator of the work never actually owned it.

[LordLeviathan]

I guess I was one of the few people who liked the Dracula TV series on NBC back in 2013. I also liked the movie Dracula Untold back in 2014. Maybe because the sort of tried to make him a real person in the real world instead
of some mysterious figure hiding in the shadows of a haunted castle.

points at castlevenia