Quote:
Originally Posted by Rurik
That is all pretty much the way I understand it.
Trademarks do not expire as long as the trademarked character or image or whatever is still in use.
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The key phase is "Stillin use". Once a company stops using a trademark is usually is fair game after 5 years or so.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rurik
Disney had a big part in the having copyright terms extended here in the U.S. When say the copyright on say Steamboat Willy expires, you will be able to show that movie, which 'stars' Mickey Mouse, but you will NOT be able use Micky Mouse in any other way, as he is trademarked.
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Probably the biggest contributor to getting the terms extended was the orginal desl over Superman that Simon & Shuester made with DC. Basically they got shafted. Cases like that raised public attention to such issues.
Personally, I don't think copywrites should extend for much more than the life of the orginal creator. I don't agree with people getting rich off of the work someone else did decades ago, let along centuries. I also think it is bad for our technological development. Imagine where we'd be today if someone had copy written all the old greek manuscrips that were saved by monks through copying.