Earlier this week, Disney’s movie Steamboat Willie Nearly a century later it entered the American public domain—as did its star, Mickey Mouse. It’s a turning point for one of the most iconic and fiercely protected intellectual properties of the 20th century, with a proliferation of irreverent reinterpretations of Mickey Mouse, including at least two movie trailers, a horror game, a custom artificial intelligence model, and A load of predictably tasteless memes. The original comics are also fully uploaded to platforms such as YouTube, and anyone can watch them for free.
The change was also marked by a confusing series of review decisions. the first day of January, technical dirt Pointing out that Disney is apparently still making requests to block videos on YouTube in some international markets. Can be mixed and matched Remixes were reportedly demonetized while being restricted in these markets. Illustrator Jef Caine posted a takedown notice on TeePublic for a stylized Mickey Mouse-themed shirt that read “No One Owns My Destiny” and quoted the haunting The term “steamed” is used to describe the demand received.
It’s unclear whether these restrictions are legitimate calls for caution, cautious over-regulation, or a simple fluke. But their appearance is not surprising. Harsh copyright enforcement shapes the boundaries and culture of the Internet. It’s ill-equipped for a world where large numbers of people are testing the edges of nuanced legal frameworks — and the situation is likely to only get more complicated as more and more pop culture becomes public property.
edge YouTube and TeePublic have been contacted for comment on their policies; YouTube declined to comment for this record and TeePublic did not respond. But there are some obvious possible explanations for these deletions, as the examples above touch on a gray area where restrictions may still apply.the first is Steamboat Willieof The copyright situation could still be more confusing outside of the U.S., especially in Europe, where YouTube appears to be limiting access.Second, Disney still holds the trademark So, as Duke Law School professor Jennifer Jenkins explains with a handy mouse-shaped diagram, it can be argued that certain merchandise may mislead people into believing it was created or endorsed by Disney.Third, Disney still owns the rights to later versions of the character that appeared in Steamboat Willie There are no now-standard features, such as his white gloves or (since this is a black and white film) bright red shorts. Both features were included in Kane’s original shirt design, and it’s worth noting that The redesigned version is still online.
But the ambiguity doesn’t exactly work in Disney’s favor. Jenkins noted that “not every feature of Mickey’s later iterations is individually copyrighted,” including “trivial” updates or updates that use obvious stock elements. (For example, a court might rule that a simple red color scheme might not be a protected addition.) technical dirt Pointing out that Europe’s “short-term rule” policy on international copyright could push Mickey into the public domain there.
Independent of public domain freedoms, U.S. fair use laws allow parody and commentary on copyrighted works, so some of these overtly subversive takes on Mickey might have been legal even before this week. This is difficult to determine because fair use is not a simple flowchart of ready-made rules; It requires calling on a case-by-case basis, balancing multiple factors. Relying on the public domain is a safer bet.
On an internet dominated by a handful of large and powerful platforms, massive content moderation obscures all of these complexities – although to YouTube and other platforms’ credit, you able found a lot Steamboat Willie Content now. Web auditing is an objective, multi-layered, often automated process that often provides recipients with little information about what they did wrong. Especially given the volume of content involved, false positives are common. The company sometimes fails to update its deletion database when a moderator declares that a post does not violate the rules.
In theory, platforms serve as intermediaries for delivering copyright claims, and people are free to file counterclaims if they believe there has been a mistake. But the balance of power is not on the user’s side. Taking risks may result in a stain on your account record or a temporary lockout and real financial costs. Even if recent predictions feel a little brighter, the options for reaching a large audience without reaching out to a handful of social media giants are still bleak. At the same time, despite the occasional legal crackdown on online trolls, the consequences of overzealous takedown requests or even deliberate blackmail are less obvious. Platforms such as YouTube are increasingly skirting pending legal issues by striking deals with the world’s largest rights holders, effectively setting their own rules.
The obvious result is a system that favors conservative interpretations of copyright law, regardless of whether they hold up in court. Large media companies can defend themselves against false complaints, such as Netflix, which faced a lawsuit in 2020 for portraying Holmes in the public domain as too friendly. Smaller creators who rely on platform generosity may decide it’s not worth the trouble. The stakes are only going to get higher as major characters like Superman, Batman, and James Bond start losing copyright protection in the United States (which is currently set to happen within the next decade).
The evolving American public sphere is a fairly new issue for many online platforms. In the late 1990s, Congress passed the Copyright Term Extension Act (sometimes called the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act”), which retroactively extended copyright terms for media, e.g. Steamboat Willie.Today’s internet giants gained power after being frozen out of the public domain for 20 years – and some speculate it might even be extended again, fortunately, this did not happen. Until early 2019, sites like YouTube simply didn’t have to deal with a world in which major intellectual property rights lost copyright in one of their largest markets.
Now the world is becoming a clear reality and users are taking advantage of its opportunities. 2024 is only a few days old, so we may not have seen the last of the Mickey Mouse remixes yet, let alone what people will do with other new releases. We also may not have seen their final takedown notices – or final questions about whether they were fair.
