Copyright Expiration: Good or Bad?

[Jokerz79]

I really go against the grain on this one.

I feel if the Direct Heirs of the Creator or Company/Corporation is still active then the property should stay the property of the owners unless the creator wanted otherwise upon their death. I mean personally if I created something I'd either want to continue on to benefit my family or benefit the company I created it for.

[Bunch of Coconuts]

Is Mickey even a big draw anymore?

Like, is he getting new fans in significant numbers? Or just resting on a previously built fan base?

Genuinely curious, but not sure how to analyze. Feels like his media presence is minimal.

[James Cameron]

Is Mickey even a big draw anymore?

Like, is he getting new fans in significant numbers? Or just resting on a previously built fan base?

Genuinely curious, but not sure how to analyze. Feels like his media presence is minimal.

Mickey Mouse is the 2nd highest-grossing media franchise in the world

[Gaastra]

Mickey mouse clubhouse is still one of disney highest rated shows decades later. The merch sells great. He is one of the most loved meet and greets at the parks and overseas his comic is still going and read by adults as much as kids.

So yes, he is still a big draw.

[Zauriel]

Oscar Wilde once quipped: “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”

[exile001]

Copyright law has long since lost all meaning, except to maintain a stranglehold on IP for a handful of mega-corporations.

The argument that copyright allows for an artist to profit from their work has pretty much always been a fantasy. Few actually privately release art, 100% keeping the rights and profits for themselves, and fewer ever did. The minute it is sold to a corporation the artist doesn't see the profit from their creation, save perhaps for percentage, stipend or creator credit.

Disney's ability to hold sole license for, say, Spider-Man does nothing for anyone except Disney who hoard IPs and release narrow streams of corporately approved content.

Saying it allows for quality control is a joke, but none the less, even taking that into account how many character destroying Sherlock Holmes works have there been in the last decade? None. The majority goes unnoticed, with certain high profile takes getting praise.

[Farealmer]

Copyright law has long since lost all meaning, except to maintain a stranglehold on IP for a handful of mega-corporations.

The argument that copyright allows for an artist to profit from their work has pretty much always been a fantasy. Few actually privately release art, 100% keeping the rights and profits for themselves, and fewer ever did. The minute it is sold to a corporation the artist doesn't see the profit from their creation, save perhaps for percentage, stipend or creator credit.

Disney's ability to hold sole license for, say, Spider-Man does nothing for anyone except Disney who hoard IPs and release narrow streams of corporately approved content.

Saying it allows for quality control is a joke, but none the less, even taking that into account how many character destroying Sherlock Holmes works have there been in the last decade? None. The majority goes unnoticed, with certain high profile takes getting praise.

100% this. It's still shocking to me that every time something new goes public domain people are suddenly on the side of mega corporations. I get in some cases it's pearl clutching or trolling. But there is still those that don't fall into either camp defending them. Wild stuff.

[DrNewGod]

You gave hypothetical situations where there may be usages that do not appeal to everybody, which is something that already regularly happens under copyright.

Fair point. I wasn't reacting to what's been done (although the recent "Blood and Honey" thing would seem a worthy candidate), but what might be done. As I said, if social media's journey should have taught us anything, it's just how much a handful of folk can ensure we can't have nice things. Even Disney doesn't have enough lawyer money to chase down everybody that might be hurting their brand image once Micky's in play.

All this doom-saying aside, I can see an upside. From my original example, maybe Superman as an economic migrant adopted by Latin American farmer parents with a strong moral code has something really powerful to offer. Maybe when the time comes, Captain America will better serve as a creation of oppressed people trying to cure disease, fighting against government institutions, than as a The Man's Soldier In Tights.

[Scott Taylor]

If Superman or Mickey Mouse were tied to universal concepts, then I could see copyright being something that unnecessarily restricts freedom. Superman could be just that, due to the call backs to so many mythological figures and (more recently) to the pulps and fantasy works of the 1800s. Mickey Mouse seems not to be one of those universal concepts, though.

[WebLurker]

I don't think corporations should be given exceptions to the copyright rule on principle. That said, I kind of agree with Scott Taylor; Mickey Mouse is still an active franchise for Disney, so him not being in the public domain never really bothered me.

[Bunch of Coconuts]

Mickey Mouse is the 2nd highest-grossing media franchise in the world

OK? Doesn't really answer my question. Pokemon is the first, and came out way later in time than Mickey Mouse.

The question was: is Mickey Mouse's popularity dwindling/stagnant or is it growing.

[Tuck]

Copyright (in the US at least) exists to "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

Copyright is granted to incentivize people to add to the culture. If a work is permanently held by an individual or entity, it ultimately stifles the culture.

[Bunch of Coconuts]

Mickey mouse clubhouse is still one of disney highest rated shows decades later.

Can you elaborate? The show seems to have been canceled in 2016 and only ran for 10 years. What "ratings"?

The merch sells great. He is one of the most loved meet and greets at the parks and overseas his comic is still going and read by adults as much as kids.

Haven't there been reports of dwindling park attendance?

What comic are you referencing?

[inisideguy]

Can you elaborate? The show seems to have been canceled in 2016 and only ran for 10 years. What "ratings"?



Haven't there been reports of dwindling park attendance?

What comic are you referencing?

Park attendance at least at Disney world was down during pandemic of course. Its been on a steady increase since then. Disney parks worldwide have 9 of the top 13 attended parks in the world. Including the most attended that being Disney world. Reports of their demise are greatly exaggerated.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...usement-parks/

[Bunch of Coconuts]

Park attendance at least at Disney world was down during pandemic of course. Its been on a steady increase since then. Disney parks worldwide have 9 of the top 13 attended parks in the world. Including the most attended that being Disney world. Reports of their demise are greatly exaggerated.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...usement-parks/

Where's the 2023 data on that chart?