Rowan Collins wrote:
>I really
don't know
>what you could and couldn't do once Mickey Mouse was no longer
>*copyrighted*, but still considered a *trademark*.
>
>
In other words: I plead ignorance, your honour. I *don't know* in what
circumstances the trademark status would come into play. But I very
much doubt that a trademark expires completely and incontrovertibly as
soon as something containing that trademark enters the public domain.
I think that this is precisely the reason Disney is worried about the
copyright on "Steamboat Willie" passing into the public domain: The
rules are a lot more loose on what you can and can't do with the
content. In legal circles there is an unwritten rule that every time
this movie is threatened with copyright expiration, Disney bribes a few
more Senators and congressmen (really, that is only a campaign
contribution, your honor) to extend the copyright another 30 years or
so. Essentially it has been in perpetual copyright, and was one of the
items mentioned in Eldred vs. Ashcroft (although in a minority opinion).
If and when this copyright expiration does occur, the use of the Micky
Mouse logo is going to be a subject of considerable contention legal
debate as Disney is likely going to defend its use in materials that it
doesn't specifically authorize. Basically this is going to be a wait
and see issue in the upcoming decade.
--
Robert Scott Horning
218 Sunstone Circle
Logan, UT 84321
(435) 753-3330
robert_horning(a)netzero.net