Re: ELDRED

>As for republished works and merchandise, Disney has already saturated
>the market for those works at the inflated price that copyright makes
>possible. Republishing those works will make them available at lower
>prices, allowing a larger number of people to enjoy those works than >did previously. Again, Shakespeare's works are all in the public >domain and are readily available to the public in multiple competing >editions, from cheap paperbacks to leather-boun
d collectibles. Has >that "drastically reduce[d] the incentive to create new, original >works"? Hardly.

>The problem with your argument is that it has no logical stopping
>point. You are basically arguing that Disney should enjoy a perpetual
>copyright.

With respect to merchandise and film characters, Disney may already enjoy a perpetual intellectual property right in the form of trademarks and related trade dress. While at some point in time, the public may be able to freely copy and use the underlying films, books etc, I am not so sure manufacturers will have an easy time reproducing, marketing, and distributing merchandise (even the underlying films and books) without running into trademark concerns.

Trademarks are perpetual, assuming the use continues. Many of Disney's trademarks date well back to the twenties and thirties. Disney and other studios with well-known animation/film characters never rely solely on copyright to protect their portfolio.

-Dave Green Received on Thu Jan 23 2003 - 17:13:55 GMT