Originally Posted by
MRP
Public domain doesn't solve it because copyright and trademarks are separate. Even if the copyright expires and the content enters public domain, Marvel/Disney still holds the trademarks to the names Spider-Man and Doctor Strange and related material, so even though the content is available, no one else could use those names in the titles or in the marketing of the content or new material produced based on that content. And trademark never expires as long as its holders renew it and defend it. So unless the trademark is abandoned by its holder, it nearly impossible to exploit or market public domain material that has existing trademarks attached and in use. Public domain is not the panacea people believe it to be. It helps, but it really only complicates matters of rights holding, it doesn't resolve anything.
-M
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