Technically this post is illegal until tomorrow, but I dig that.
Not really. I think it’s considered free speech if it’s sarcastic or a parody.
Free speech doesn’t apply to Intellectual Property at all, or rather you’re free to say whatever you want but you can still be sued for anything that you say.
What you’re thinking of is “Fair Use”.
Would using a VPN make posting it from NZ illegal right after midnight if the IP is logged from a country not past midnight?
It’s still illegal. This version of Mickey Mouse is still covered under trademark law.
Trademark. Not copyright. And the part that is covered is Mickey.
This could also be covered under copyright, since the only Mickey that went into public domain is the one from Steamboat Willie, not this one. I’m not a lawyer, though.
Show us the hands! Willie, in the public domain, doesn’t wear gloves. Mickey, still Disney IP, does wear gloves.
Yet somehow the Steamboat Willie version seems more likely to give you said exam whether warranted or not
OUR mouse
My mouse is your mouse (and your mouse is mine)
I’ve heard an argument that a reason why Disney has pushed Steamboat Willie lately (new intro for Disney Animation films, and a lot of merch) is because copyright law works differently from trademark law. They can still claim a trademark even if the copyrighted work is in public domain. I’m not a lawyer, but if that’s not all BS, I don’t think we have to worry about anything like this anytime soon.
AFAIK you can only claim a trademark-violation if someone is (for example) selling stuff (so you couldn’t sell stuffed animals that look like an early Mickey for example).
A trademark just has to be “used in commerce as a mark”. In layman’s terms, that basically means distributing goods or services with it as a logo or a name. A stuffed animal could be infringement, but using something a logo for your software is much closer to the classic infringement fact pattern.
Let me clarify, only the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse characters are in public domain, not the recent versions as Disney holds the copyright. In a few years, more Mickey Mouse shorts will become public domain.
Personally, I don’t give a shit about whether Mickey Mouse is copyrighted or not. What I care about is all the other works that were kept from entering the public domain because Disney was constantly getting copyright extended.
