Hawley to introduce legislation targeting Disney copyright protections; Washington Examiner, May 2, 2022

 Zachary Halaschak, Washington Examiner ; Hawley to introduce legislation targeting Disney copyright protections

"The copyright on Disney’s classic Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse, the first iteration of the character, is set to expire at the end of 2023, and Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) recently wrote to Disney CEO Bob Chapek telling him that he and some other GOP lawmakers oppose “further extensions applicable” to the company’s copyrights. Banks argued those should become public domain. 

Republicans in both Florida and Washington, D.C., have been upset about Disney’s public lobbying against the Florida legislation, which is called the Parental Rights in Education bill but has been branded the “Don't Say Gay” bill by critics. The legislation bans classroom instruction of sexual orientation and gender identity through the third grade. 

Disney has successfully lobbied for copyright extensions in the past. Disney pushed for the Copyright Act of 1976 and then worked to get the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 signed into law. Detractors of the latter bill had branded it the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.”...

Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) also recently tweeted, “Next year, the woke Disney lobbyists will ask Congress to extend Micky Mouse’s trademark. I think not.”"

Why Mickey Mouse’s 1998 copyright extension probably won’t happen again; Ars Technica, January 8, 2018

Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica; Why Mickey Mouse’s 1998 copyright extension probably won’t happen again

"Most of the public considered copyright to be a boring subject with little relevance to their daily lives, so there was little grassroots interest in the issue. Karjala hoped that professional associations of librarians and historians—which had traditionally been important advocates for the public interest on copyright issues—would help stop the bill. But the legislation had so much momentum that these groups decided to settle for minor changes to the legislation. So the bill wound up passing without a significant fight.

The rise of the Internet has totally changed the political landscape on copyright issues. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is much larger than it was in 1998. Other groups, including Public Knowledge, didn't even exist 20 years ago. Internet companies—especially Google—have become powerful opponents of expanding copyright protections."

Copyright Cops Go After Town For Creating Little Mermaid Statue; Tech Dirt, 7/31/09

Mike Masnick via Tech Dirt; Copyright Cops Go After Town For Creating Little Mermaid Statue:

"Dan sends in yet another story about copyright gone wrong. Apparently the small town of Greenville Michigan has a strong Danish heritage, and wanted to show that off with some artifact representing Denmark. It chose the iconic Little Mermaid statue, based on Hans Christian Andersen's story, and a similar iconic statue in Denmark. Apparently, however, the family of the artist who created the statue in Denmark is trying to clamp down and is demanding a lump sum payment or that the statue be taken down. The actual artist died in 1959... but thanks to recent extensions in copyright (yippee), copyright now lasts life plus seventy years.

Of course, I'm wondering if the statue even violates the copyright at all. While the town says it was inspired by the one in Denmark, the actual statue is different:

At about 30 inches high, it's half the size of the original and has a different face and other distinct features, including larger breasts. "We've gotten a lot of heat about that too," he says.

Considering that so much of the statue is different, is it even a copyright violation at all?"

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090731/0337175728.shtml