Yea but if I pass my idea to be owned by a corporation. I want them to have it because they are more likely to treat my creation as it is. But if I notice something wrong I pass it to a person or group that would treat my creation in the correct manner and then they would own the rights.
+Berelore Actually, there are a lot of stories which enter the public domain every January 1st, even by the ultra-restrictive U.S. copyright laws. Several Tarzan stories entered the public domain this year. Disney only steps in when the mouse is due to enter public domain soon, and yes, many other IPs see their own copyrights extended at the same time.
+Berelore Meh, if they keep hacking off the Republicans nothing their lobbyists do will get another extension passed. It's up in two years so Disney better hope congress gets turned inside out or they're gonna lose Steamboat Willie.
It was the Mouse (or well, Disney of course) that caused said 1998 extension of the copyright from 75 to 95 years, because said Mouse would also be part of the public domain now. Ironically if they hadn't lobbied to extend the law like that they could now put a Superman and Batman version in the Avengers with no issues at all. If they were to try a Squadron Supreme movie or even just put Hyperion and Nighthawk in a Marvel movie, you can bet your sweet tuchus that DC/WB would step in with the lawyers.
Let's also forget that copyright is being extended all the time. This practice started back when Disney realized they were about to lose their favorite (ripped off) mouse.
StitchLock Mickey was indeed a ripoff of Oswald but only to replace him after Universal took the rights from Disney. It's like WWE creating fake diesel and fake razor ramon after Kevin Nash & Scott Hall left for WCW.
+Club Nientiendo But the character itself would, and just like Captain Marvel, one could make a new comic hero with his exact abilities/themes/format and be perfectly safe from lawsuit. You just couldn't call him a trade marked name. I'm thing UltraMale last male child from the planet Radon.
If I could do anything with Superman but couldn't reference anything from the last 75 years... I would make him obsessed with Soup... it's the only idea I have right now
I think Paul Jennings or someone affiliated with him once wrote a short comedy story about how it's misspelt and is actually "Souperman." And he get's his powers temporarily from soup.
Some years ago i did some research on comics that have fallen into the public domain thinking I'd write a short story about them, but didn't find any that spoke to me today. There's a reason I suppose why no one's messed with the ones still out there. Most of them aren't inspiring and a few of them are even kinda offensive by today's standards. World War Two was a weird time. If I could write a story about the Superman and Batman of the 1940s, I'd actually write about modern day in a world where the stories of Superman and Batman happened as depicted in the early material (what we now call The Golden Age) but The Justice Society prematurely ended, and all costumed vigilantes disappeared by the 1950s. Few today believe they really existed. If anyone still remembers, they're dead or dying from old age, and someone or something has rewritten history to erase superheroes from The Human Condition. Fast forward to today: young Kimberly Kent finds out by accident she is the descendant of Superman (whom she's never heard of but her nerdy bookworm friend Buffy Allen has) but some people named Doctor Occult and Madame Rose put a magic spell on The Kent family line that made Grampa Clark human and not alien, but that magic spell's wearing off. Meanwhile, ne'er do well blacksheep Wendel has recently become the sole surviving heir of the WayneMart fortune, due to some questionable circumstances, and while liquidating assets to pay off his gambling debts, he happens upon The Batcave. The gadgets are antiques, but Wendel has a soft spot for this sort of thing, and decides to become a vigilante for kicks. Only, his idea of peacekeeping leaves a bit to be desired. Someone's gonna have to stop him, and the only person more powerful than a rich guy with too many toys is a clumsy young girl who can jump an eighth of a mile, almost chase down a speeding train, and is kinda sorta bullet proof. Maybe. In the process of the first stories, it's revealed this world was supposed to be teeming with costumed vigilantes, but time travelers in the late 21st century coupled with magic users back in the early 1940s conspired to radically change human history for the time traveler's own self-centered ends, After a fashion, Wendel and Kimberly are forced to work together to restore the timeline and save humanity from itself.
Zachs Mind Yes. but you'd have to use the Superman from the Fleischer shorts. as he and his universe are public domain compared to the mainstream and other versions. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(1940s_cartoons)
+Zachs Mind Why are you still here? Why aren't you writing this, dammit?! Make a Captain Ersatz, or use a Golden Age Superman/Batman rip-off! Or go to DC with this! GO MAN GO! Please, I want to read this! PLEASE!
Superman, also grew much more powerful than his initial introduction in the golden age, before they transferred over to the silver age in 1956 to the point he had most of his modern day superpowers. So if alll of those stories in the golden age are true then Superman and his offspring as a result would have: Superhuman strength Superhuman speed - and to give scale he could runs so fast in this time period he went through time. Superhuman senses (including telescopic vision, x-ray vision, superhuman hearing, microscopic vision) Invulnerability Superhuman breath Flight (initially enhanced jumping, super-leaping) Vocal abilities, including ventriloquism To preserve your story you would have to cut out most of the things that happen in the 1940's with superman. A way to make this work would be to say the stories aren't true, but they are based on real events. Batman would also have issues because he got super campy in the 40's and sported tons of "science" that it defies any logical explanation. Not trying to rain on your parade with any ill intent, just pointing out the flaws in your conceptions of the golden age superman and Batman that would be a flaw in your story.
In the year 2033 everything in 1938 including every issue of Action Comics from that year will be ours to own. That year will be very historic. More so then Mickie Mouse going into the Public Domain.
I serve as an admin for a page about comic book characters and the public domain. I am endlessly explaining the general concepts and specifics of public domain law as they apply to specific stories and characters. I do not think I have ever heard a better explanation than what is happening right here in this video. Will Superman ever enter the public domain? Probably not entirely... By my count, it will be many more years before Superman enters the public domain by U.S. Copyright law. Just because the inevitable date of expiration approaches, does not mean that a specific character will ever enter the public domain. The U.S. Congress has a habit of changing the rules and extended copyrights every several years. This last happened in the 1990s with the Sonny Bono Act, and it is widely perceived that Disney is the force behind the scenes which pushes for these extensions. As the rules keep getting changed to protect Micky Mouse's copyright, other characters like Superman get caught in Micky's wake and see their own copyrights extended perpetually. That part about the "U.S." is an important distinction. American copyright laws are more complex and last longer than the copyright laws of just about any other nation on the planet. Most other nations go by the rules of the Berne Convention. The Berne Convention is a treaty which states that member nations (169 of them and counting) must have copyrights which last a minimum duration; member nations are free to extend their own copyrights longer if they like. The Berne Convention states that copyrights should last for the creator's life and fifty years following the creator's death. There is a loophole for when an creator is unknown. In the case of Superman, we know the creators: Joe Shuster (who died in 1992) and Jerry Siegel (who died in 1996). Even Disney cannot write the laws in 169 countries. Simple addition tells me that the international copyrights on the first Superman story are set to expire in 2046 regardless of the U.S. Congress does. That means people outside of the U.S. will be able to make their own Superman movies, video games, and -- yes -- comic books on January 1st, 2046. Only Americans will be shackled by copyright extensions. Take all of this with a grain of kryptonite. I am not a copyright attorney (which is why I am not charging you for this consultation). I am just a self-educated armchair know-it-all.
Just so that you are aware, many countries have recently extended the length of copyright protection to 70 years after the death of the last surviving author, including all the EU countries. Canada will very likely do so too because the newly revised NAFTA trade deal sets life+70 as the minimum length of copyright protection. So Superman won't enter the public domain in these countries until 2067 (71 years after Siegel's death). Even then, it's very likely that Superman will be protected by various trademarks. As long as they are still being actively used, they do not ever expire. This could prevent anyone from releasing unauthorized new Superman movies or comics featuring the name "Superman" or his likeness even after the original comics have entered the public domain.
@@lordzaboem Do research, becsue you haven’t done any. in most countries it’s author’s life + 70 years. And the authors of works of marvel and dc characters didn’t die till like the 60s,70s and 90s.As of writing, marvel and DC’s characters first appearances wouldn’t be public domain in most countries till the 2060s or longer. It wouldn’t be PD in North America Canada or Mexico or any country in Latin America. It wouldn’t be PD in any country of Europe since there it’s firmly author’s life + 70 years. It wouldn’t be Public domain in pretty much most countries in Africa,most countries in Asia, or even any countries in Oceania. Did you pass high school?
@@lordzaboem copyright law is way longer internationally. For example, take a look at Europe, even when talking about non EU countries. Copyright law in Europe is very much the same. the first ever marvel/dc character created was Dr Occult. And since Jerry Siegel (longest surviving author) only died in the 1996. Dr occult’s first appearance wouldn’t hit the PD in Europe alone till 2068. And the same would apply to other regions like Latin America,both Canada and Mexico, most parts of Africa and Asia and pretty much the entirety of oceanica
@@ComicJunkie Woah dude, there's NO reason to make rude remarks towards the guy like "Did you pass high school?" That's completely uncalled for. Yes, you are encouraged to correct any factual errors, but you can do so respectfully. Besides, if you consult the Wikipedia article called "List of countries' copyright lengths" you'll see that outside North America and Europe, the Berne Convention minimum of life + 50 years is still fairly common internationally. I do think though that in light of the pressure big countries and regions like the U.S. and EU are exerting on others through international trade deals, life + 70 is gradually becoming the new international norm and anything less will be rare within a few decades time. Japan went from life + 50 to life + 70 last year (if I recall correctly) and the renegotiated NAFTA (now called the USMCA) means that Canada must follow suit by next year at the latest.
Copyright shouldn't be indefinite and the spirit of it is to protect the intellectual property of individual creators, not the intellectual property of big companies. Think how much poorer we would be culturally if we could not make our own versions of Thor and Hercules because some companies had renewed the copyright for thousands of years.
DisThoughts it's actually going that way next time the copyright stuff is up for renewal. Pretty much everyone is cool with some sort of terms along the lines of "lifetime of the creator +20 years after death" or similar type deal.... but not a company makinh millions forever after the guy died deal.
Joseph Keenan. Unfortunately the "lifetime of the creator +20 years" isn't going to realistically happen because nearly all countries have long ago implemented into law the Berne convention which makes life + 50 the absolute minimum copyright term. While most of the general public does not support copyright extension, large media giants like Disney with lots of lobbyists and a back catalog of old copyrights do. That's why the U.S. and the EU have been using trade deals to try to pressure other countries into ratcheting up their copyright terms to life + 70. Several countries have done so within the past twenty years (or have even gone beyond this, such as Mexico's life + 99). As of this writing, the U.S. is pressuring Canada to increase its copyright to life + 70 in the NAFTA renegotiations. Things are still going in the _wrong_ direction.
You can use Thor and Hercules just as much you like without copy right problems. And they are used. What you can't do, is make Thor look like the Marvel version of Thor, or probably have Kevin Sorbo acting your version of Hercules.
Whatever happens, DC (and Marvel) will never let go of their cash cows. Even if it means first putting out a good story like the "Death of Superman", then retconning it by bringing him back to life.
Nobody likes legal mumbo jumbo, but you did a great job of making it interesting. Maybe in the future you can do a similar video about how DC and Marvel own the word "Superhero" and all of its different spellings and variations.
***** This will be a thing I do in the future, for sure. It's already on the list! The issue is that there seems to be some confusion about the difference between trademark and copyright, so I'd want to clear that up. Plus, there's an interesting legal battle going on right now about the word "superhero" so I want to wait until that's wrapped up before I give it a go.
being a dc fan, I don't see what it could hurt being in the public domain since it can't get any worse than what dc has been putting out.I don't think I'll get anymore current dc issues until dan didio steps down. also it might be better to have somone writing comics for comics sake instead of trying to write comics for movies.
Personally, I don't have an issue with copyright extending indefinitely for creative works. For inventions and other things I think it makes more sense for copyright to end sooner, so that they can be improved upon. But a creative work isn't really anyone but the creators. Once the creator dies it should still be their right to choose who owns it, or to let it go to public domain. If the creator is a company, it makes sense for the company to continue owning it.
How about every time DC reboots their continuity, the former version of the characters enters the public domain as being abandoned? Maybe then they will stop ruining stories with cross over "undo" events.
gwkowe There is a video about Batman in youtube.Psychology of Batman. I vote yes to both btw..Batman for me is the most interesting character out there
Considering how Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were treated by DC, i don't think there could be any moral objections about DC losing their copyright on Supes to the public domain.
thats irrelevant and will never happen because there is no copyright on superman. characters are trademarked not copyrighted. and are you mad? superman is literally the flagship character of DC. it makes no sense for him to be PD. it makes no sense for any marvel or dc character to be PD.
@@ACooperrocks your very dumb and no I ain't mad but just saying that you don't know jack about IP law. and your logic is flawed, by your logic that literally means that marvel shouldn't own captain america because of how badly they mistreated the creators Jack Kirby and Joe simon. Dude it makes no sense for supes or just any marvel or dc character to be PD. superman literally represents the DC brand, thats their flaghsip property. the character itself will never go into the public domain only stories of him might. the same thing with batman,captain america,spider man and virtually any marvel and dc character out there.
@@ComicJunkie If you're gonna call someone dumb, the least you can do is spell YOU'RE right, or just write "You are". Also i never commented on the legality of the issue, so my point stands. Stay mad and di3 mad, my friend.
One thing this video is a bit confusing about is that yes, Superman would have been lapsing about right now at the time it was recorded if the copyright extension of the 90's hadn't happened, but...without the first extension the character would have actually lapsed in 1996. we'd be 2 decades into Superman lore by now and teaming him up with Spider-Man and junk. Neither extension /needed/ to happen, except for these companies, who needed to steal Batman from us for 40 years.
You may notice that it is mostly golden age superheroes who wear underwears on the outside. This is because bodybuilders and wrestlers wore underwears on the outside of their pants at the time. So basically to make superheroes look strong or remind people of strong men, they wore an underwear on the outside. Since that stuff's kinda outdated, they've gotten rid of it in the New 52.
Copyright is tyranny. It was supposed to encourage creativity, which it USED TO, but now people are abusing it to make it all but impossible to create anything new. In the past, it was highly unlikely that you could accidentally violate someone's copyright. Now, there's so many copyrights out there that its nigh impossible to avoid. I mean, I've heard of people being unable to trademark their own names because of copyright! These days, its all just getting stupid. Especially in superhero comics where pretty much every character you could possibly make has already been done, making it nearly impossible to create anything truly original. And you can see this yourself. Come up with your own superhero, then search for your name. Chances are, there's already a virtually identical character in either DC or Marvel comics. Yeah.
While I think copyright and even fair use are becoming something new and uncontrollable due to the Internet and the way many videos are made using clips, it is important to note The Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) of 1998 is also called the Mickey Mouse Protection Act for a specific reason: Disney fought to extend their rights, which is harming them a bit with the Maker/Blip.tv deal they made. But public domain characters can make for great stories, from the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore to Dynamite Comics' Project Superpowers stories, which featured all public domain superheroes.
I see this on my feed, and click on it and sit down. I'm like, dude, tell me, inform me, I want to know about this, almost in a relieving way. You have a way of making these videos magnetic and as I've started before, I'm not even a huge comic fan. You just do this sort of thing so well and have a way of capturing interest and attention.
Awesome video! That's a cool factoid. To your end question, yes I think Superman should enter the public domain, ad every creation should. It's good for creativity, and keeps things less corporate. I do think it won't happen as Disney ups the limit on copyright again to keep Micky Mouse in their coffers.
I don't think I'd like my superheroes being in the public domain, I don't want to have my favorite heroes having knock-off stories. I want the companies that made them to continue their story and not have some comic anarchy. It just wouldn't feel right to read a story about Superman if it wasn't printed by DC
I think One Punch Man should definetly be in the public domain... just for fun... The people seem to not understand the difference between canon, lore and public domain. Canon is something the story tellers accept as "current, active story-line", lore is whatever was published by the original artist(s) or deemed "genuine" by the copyright holders, while public domain means everyone can use it. So, all in all, one could make use of a character in the public domain, wihout messing wiht the canon or even the lore. For example, the Raspberry Pi is open source, and anyone can create and sell them, legelly, but people still do buy from the developers, in order to support them and to recive more high-quality products from them, updates, maintainance, and god-knows-what. And I don't see the developers of Raspberry Pi boards going bankrupt any time soon.
The Superman cartoons, which was created by Max Fleischer in the early 1940s. Although all entries are in the public domain, ancillary rights such as merchandising contract rights, as well as the original 35mm master elements, are owned today by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Warner has owned Superman publisher DC Comics since 1969.
@@Donovampire yea youtube another case it can't be compared they just suck at their job getting rid of the wrong things and sometimes don't even do the job of getting rid of the right ones
I just imagine M. Night Shamalan standing up in the middle of the trial, saying "What a twist?" as Fawcett's defence attorney is explaining why Sups' was in the public domain.
Hey Scott! I'm a TV station engineer, but my degrees are actually in Mass Communications and foreign language. Communications law was absolutely part of the curriculum for me to graduate! You should be proud of this video. As far as I can tell, you did get exactly one thing wrong, as you predicted. However, it was just a superficial little thing: Judge Learned Hand's first name is pronounced the Shakespearean way, "Learn’ed,” with two syllables. So, well done! An extra little tidbit you might find interesting: modern copyright law in the U.S. does not require registration or use of the copyright symbol in order for a work to be copyrighted. A work only needs to be put down on paper, or captured on tape or recorded digitally, in prefer for protection to be granted. Cheers from Nashville! -Russ
My favorite versions of both Superman and Batman are the characters on HISHE. These are already legal as parody. I don't really see a need for anything else.
Intersting note: Billy Batson (Shazam)'s home town is Fawcett City. I dunno if that was the case back when Cpt. Marvel was under Fawcett Publication, but I think that's a nice little nod to those days.
I think all comic book characters should be public domain. Think of how many fans popular comic book characters have. Superman, Batman, Green lantern, Spider-man, Blade, Punisher, Venom, Ghost Rider etc. If all comic book characters were public domain, not only would fans be able to write their own stories about their favorite characters, but they could write their own stories about their favorite character and they could write stories where they become said character and it would inspire a lot of people to practice writing and character design. It would allow fans to really use their imagination when working on something they care deeply about. Just think of the possibilities.
copyright is BAD for the comic industry, when\if DC or Marvel go under it will be 75 years tell the fans can use their favourites and you can bet that it will be purchased by a new company that just want to make money and not respect what makes the fans love them
Not necessarily. It just means less hoops they would have to go through. Sure, let's say Spidey was in public domain, every film company could make Spidey, but, Marvel could still do their official version without going through copyright loopholes.
Do one next on how Disney Lobbied Congress with millions of dollars to add those extra 20 years so Micky Mouse would not fall into public domain, the Irony being Disney waited until jungle Book fell into PD to make that into a movie plus many other PD classic they have made their own. I bet when time comes due they will lobby Congress again to add another 20 years.
I'm so glad this is being discussed. I've been thinking for a very long time now that Superman should be in the public domain, not because I don't like what DC is doing with him but just so that other people can produce Superman media of their own interpretations, too. I think the character's influence has become so wide and huge by now that everybody who likes Superman has a Superman that's not necessarily the same as another person's Superman. That's why, no matter what DC does -- Supeman as a boy scout, or social activist, or tyrant, or outsider, or warrior -- people are always split between liking and not liking it. A lot of people have their own Superman that's not whatever DC is putting out at the moment. Putting him in public domain (and using the multiverse as an excuse for the different interpretations) could solve this problem. Maybe that could be a good campaign to do for Superman's 100th anniversary: get the character in the public domain. Heck, DC could even write the story arc that would end with Superman becoming a "multiversal being", making it coincide with his release into the public domain. It would also free DC from what sometimes seems to be a burden to them: having to put Superman front and center in stories and events they don't really seem to want to. DC could finally go ahead and make Batman their main without pretension whatsoever.
@@antovald20 that made no sense either they can be renewed. how can disney's flagship character be public domain? you cannot have mickey mouse in anywhere else but disney. and no there really isn't a limit. mickey mouse will always be exclusive to disney and superman will always be exclusive to dc. and that is not up for discussion dude. marvel and dc are gonna be making comics,games,tv shows and movies on their properties. they aren't go anywhere. they never will.its a fantasy
@@ComicJunkie Maybe you should research Public Domain a little bit. When anyone makes anything, and that particular person passes away. That particular person's work will officially belongs to the people after certain years and if anyone renews or inherent the work, but still there's a limit and once it's reached that person's work is free for all to use as however they want. Just look at Sherlock Holmes. His a Public Domain character, and look at how many people did their own spin on that character. His popular because anyone is free to use him.
You actually cleared this up nicely. I originally thought that since the original Superman (from Earth 2) was changed along the lines (during the late 1950s/ early 1960s) to the Silver Age (Earth 1) Superman, the copyright would hold because it was ANOTHER character with the name who could the carry the copyright along for another 75/ 95 years.
@NedSync: Haven't seen any new videos in a while, or, at least as often as you used to make them... But, from your 2 videos, this one and the one about Shazam and Captain Marvel... I was thinking about how interesting it is that NOW, no one can sue for copyright infringement for characters created WITH superpowers that are clearly similar if not the same as Superman, such as Super Strength, Super Invulnerability and Flight. I was wondering if you could do a video about that... If you can of course. I love how you explain things... Always been a fan of your stuff.
I can't wait until all these iconic characters enter the Public Domain. 2033 and onward will be exciting Public Domain Days. I can only imagine what creative works will be done with all these characters.
@@ComicJunkie Or the many comic book characters that fell into the public domain like... 1-Catman 2-Black Terror 3- Fighting Yank 4- Amazing Man 5- The Question
@@antovald20 No the Question is the sole property of DC comics. No one else can use him. Dude just accept the reality. These characters will never be public domain
Hence why you see limited runs of stories containing 'Golden Age' characters, even if they've died or been killed off or heavily retconned. Retention of copyright especially with golden age heroes not in the 'big three' is deemed necessary especially in cases of the original Green Lantern, Flash, etc. The interesting part is non copyrighted characters existing in multiple comic book universes. Hercules, Zeus, Ares, Athena, Hera all existing in Marvel, DC, the Xenaverse, and many more. To retain rights to Superman a few years back had to make deals restoring some ownership rights to Schuster and Siegel, creators they'd screwed the rights out of decades earlier. The copyright of 'for hire' works have a far shorter term because original creators of the content received no financial benefit beyond their original contract.
I'd like to see a more lax view on copyright taken. Like it'd be nice for DC and Marvel to digitally distribute fan comics of the heroes. It'd be both a great way of scouting talent and a great way of winning over good PR for the company
+S Clair Well I know in Japan, they're a little looser in their copyright though it depends on the medium. You're allowed to sell fan-manga of an official title.
+S Clair I would be satisfied is the U.S. were to simply streamline their copyright laws so that they matched nearly every other nation. There is an international treaty called the Berne Convention, and it dates back all the way to the 19th Century. The Berne Convention states that (when dealing with published stories) that copyrights must last at least as long as the creator's life plus fifty years. That's good enough for lots of other countries. the U.S. has by far the most complex copyright laws I know.
+Scott Gastineau In response to the first part of your comment I will say this (I'm not attacking you here) Us Americans have never wanted to bend to what other countries are doing. It's in our blood to deify what other countries want us to do (As is the reason why we came to be). But the copyright thing is ridiculous, I feel like it should be a lot less then what even the Berne Convention says. I think it lasting as long as the creators life is good enough. And, in the event of their untimely death, you could add 10 years to the copyright (Thus giving, say, a guys wife the ability to have an income after his death)
DC fucked up even more when they let their trademark on Captain Marvel expire. That's how Marvel comics have a Captain Marvel and DC has to call their's Shazam. These are the same idiots producing BvS so don't get your hopes up too high on that movie.
+Dan Howard Technically warner brothers/Zack Snyder are in charge of the movies DC takes no real personal action in the media in any way the only person who even does do anything like that is Geoff johns but only from time to time as he is most of the time preoccupied writing comics P.S I take it you have zero interest in seeing the movie or basically can tell its going to be a failure from the trailers and character casting. P.S.S what's so bad about him going by shazam is not like its an awful name
I would love if Superman were public domain only so I could write and publish my own Superman stories because I just love the character and his mythology so much. Scott, would you do a video on the Daleks? I've heard that they've had some history with potentially falling into the public domain but I don't know if that's a rumor or not. I know the Toclafane were made up as a potential replacement for the Daleks in the Time War in case they never got the copyright to the Daleks for when they were making the show in 2005.
1.) Write the Story and get good artwork to go with it.2.) Raise the funds to produce a few thousand copies of said story/ comic. 3.) Have your Lawerys talk to their Lawerys about roralities, " it is late and to much voka," No risk to DC on a bad story, and they have publish alot of bad stories over thirty years.
Well presented and accurate. DC started out with pulps mostly spicy, Marvel was involved with numerous pulps etc. William Gaines was able to get access to the 4 color presses in Conn. Both families who were related went into comic book business. The reason they settled out of court is because they were relatives. They combined their forces and have been able to monopolize the business ever since.
When the original creator dies it should be public domain. Comic heroes are our shared mythology, A company owning them is absurd as a company owning the Greek pantheon.
@@ComicJunkie Creation should never be public domain?, So every myth, fairy tale, Character, idea or invention should be forever owned by a corporation. wtf is wrong with you? I guess the Wheel and language should be owned by companies too. You absolute brainlet.
I dont get it shazam is nothing like superman superman no wizard no greek gods no lightning and stiff come on if shazams a ripoff then aquaman is too and other chars like vision whatever
I got an interesting question, can a person or company make a Public Domain character into a copyright one? Like make Dracula into a copyright one. To whole character in general. Like no one can use him any more. I am just curious. I don't need a long explanation, just a yes, no or it's complicated.
There are a few things you missed re the National Fawcett suit. Captain Marvel wasn't actually ruled as infringing Superman. 1. National layers showed images of Superman doing feats and Cap repeating these feats at a later date. Fawcett layers showed that other characters had also done those same feats before Superman. Characters like Popeye and Tarzan. Before any ruling was made the Fawcett layers then presented the newspaper laps argument taking the win in the first suit. 2. The judge who ruled on the appeal said Captain Marvel didn't infringe but that some feats and showing could, allowing the then DC to file suit on different grounds. It's a minor semantics but pertinent I think. Honestly had Captain Marvel still been selling how he was in the years before I very much doubt Fawcett would have settled. I mean they simply ceased publishing Mater man (their first copy of Superman) as soon as DC filed Suit. Yet when they files Suit for cap, a property that was the highest selling comic character of the time (selling in excess of 1.4- 1.8 million copies per issue) they fought back. When they settled was during the decline of comic superheroes and Cap's sales were hitting lower figures every month. They were as low as 500k and I would guess not worth pursuing in Fawcett's book. Considering they settled for a measly $400k on a property that was I'm three titles a month for 11 years selling 1.4 - 1.8 milliom copies each issue at a dime they easily made over $4.5m (adjusted for inflation $54m today) not counting the movie serial, advertising revenue (which in a book with that level of circulation would have been massive as well) and any other income. I figure they just figured it was time to cut their losses as they did with mastermam
Or they think that a great artist is a great designer. I love Jim lee's art but hate his designs and he did not even design the new 50ew's night wing just took the cape off of the Robin suit from the movie Batman and Robin.
Check the french comics The Chimera Brigade about pre WWII super heroes (not from comics but from pulp novels, like the Shadow, but mostly European). As Superman is pre WWII, he make an appearance, but due to copyright reason, he's called Mr Steel, and you never see his logo. This is the kind of stories I'd like to read if these characters fall in the public domain...
joe thiziznotreal But then everything will immediately and constantly be butchered and destroyed before the original version can safely be established as the artist's original vision, just like religion... :'(
I'd get into the psychological aspect of Superman, giving the viewer what it feels like to be all-powerful. I might take a Grant Morrison approach, introducing some spiritual aspects to also give the reader more perspective of Superman's responsibility, and even introduce that he might feel tempted to abandon Earth and begin his own spiritual pilgrimage.
+Gabe Goldiamond I've considered the pilgrimage idea myself, but I suspect he'd have to return in the long-run or risk losing a lot of popularity. Captain Comet left for space adventure and became obscure, though he did leave before becoming widely known on Earth.
I like your approach - though personally I'd go for a more human perspective, focusing on more of Clark Kent's struggles and drama and how that connects to his identity as both the mild-mannered reporter and Superman
I feel like if a company is still actively using their character, making new content with that character, etc...then it shouldn't fall into public domain no matter how much time has passed.
+BabyKrogan That's what trademarks are for. The problem with letting "new content" be the determining factor is then you essentially guarantee that all of these companies will produce junk just to keep up their rights. Just look at the Fantastic Four Movies for instance. Characters can easily be shared by different companies with only benefits for the fans, just look at Sherlock Holmes and the 3 different versions of his character that have been made in the last few years.
No, fiction should be freely available to all, just as it had for thousands of years prior. I, as a creator myself, understand the need for copyright to last some period of time to allow artists to make money, but either once they die or *maybe* once their kids die it should automatically become public domain. The whole reason we think like we do today is because it’s been like it is now for a few generations, but that’s only because Walt Disney got greedy and had the laws changed.
@@ComicJunkie so Robin Hood should be owned by some descendant of a British person? Who should own Snow White? Gilgamesh? Zoro? Why on earth would you think the Happy Birthday song should still have a copyright on it? You’re literally defying the last *few thousand years* if not longer of how human nature works.
Wasn't Superman's basic concept just John Carter of Mars on Earth? No reason I can't make Jupiter Man, strongest man in the Solar System, sent here to track down some criminal from the Kuiper Belt. With enough creativity, extended copyrights aren't shackles.
Tricky decision. If a character stays in the rights of the creator, you can be certain that the material produced with them will either be canon or at least approved by the creator, most of the time. But characters can also be forgotten. If the rights go public, old forgotten characters can be revived into new stories. But then there are fanfics. Some are good, others...well...
I imagine that by the end of the century years we'll have like 3 movies coming out at the same time about the same comic book character like what happens now with King Arthur, Robin Hood, the Jungle Book, and other public domain characters.
Funny enough, even if a copyright or trademark is "abandoned". It doesn't mean that the copyright or trademark is in the public domain. If Sega decided to "abandon" their trademark for Sonic the Hedgehog, there would STILL be the 95 years after the publication of the "abandoned" trademark, due to the abandonment date of the trademark status, that date would serve as the amount of time SEGA would have for exclusive trademark usage right for Sonic the Hedgehog. And, then, they could choose to renew it at the 90 mark and continually renew the trademark eternally. As only they would have prior rights in using the trademark.
US Copyright and Trademark laws are out of control. It's mostly fueled by Hollywood studios like Disney and Warner, but it's not really about protecting artists anymore, it's about corporate welfare. Things NEED to go into the public domain!
PLAN: -Let people make Superman comics so long as they only charge 1940s prices. -Only recognize DC-made Superman stuff as automatically canon. -If you make the better product, people will buy your stuff despite its higher price; if a fan makes a superior product, let their thing have some canon recognition or at least some honorable mention. This will improve fanfic and brandfic quality overall and encourage engagement with the fans.
One OVA. Project A-Ko. Project A-Ko. Would love to know what you think of this anime. It tried to create the character A-Ko as the daughter of Superman and Wonderwoman, showing the S symbol, Wonderwoman's bracelets and a number of other things but got slapped for copyright after a couple of episodes. They were forced to remove or write out all DC characters, but the writers (and fans) kinda lost interest in it after that so the series died at 5 or 6 eps.
Anything that's been copyrighted should be allowed to be used in the public domain as long as the person in the public domain isn't making money (Or at least a certain amount of money) off of it. Now I know something like this exists to a certain degree, but I'm pretty sure that if the copyright holder was really intent (And was big enough), they could shut down even a non-profit use of the copyrighted item. Which is bull.
I would write a Superman story where he's losing his powers, and villains just happen to start coming after him at that time, so he's getting weaker and weaker and he's racing against the clock to find a cure.
Frost Marvel That'd be a good one. Kind of like when Spider-Man was facing the Sinister Six without any web cartridges. He still had his powers, sure, but he was at a bit of a disadvantage which made it more fun!
This shows why we need serious reworking of our copyright and trade mark laws. These laws were intended to protect creators, not corporations.
Yea but if I pass my idea to be owned by a corporation. I want them to have it because they are more likely to treat my creation as it is. But if I notice something wrong I pass it to a person or group that would treat my creation in the correct manner and then they would own the rights.
@@alexanderavila2514 A Foundation is what you need.
Nothing will ever go into the public domain again the mouse won't let it.
+Berelore Actually, there are a lot of stories which enter the public domain every January 1st, even by the ultra-restrictive U.S. copyright laws. Several Tarzan stories entered the public domain this year. Disney only steps in when the mouse is due to enter public domain soon, and yes, many other IPs see their own copyrights extended at the same time.
+Berelore Meh, if they keep hacking off the Republicans nothing their lobbyists do will get another extension passed. It's up in two years so Disney better hope congress gets turned inside out or they're gonna lose Steamboat Willie.
Berelore Mickey rules all. The world is his yes-man. 😂
And if Mickey ever enters the public domain, the next-oldest profitable character will take his place in the fight against copyrights ever expiring.
It was the Mouse (or well, Disney of course) that caused said 1998 extension of the copyright from 75 to 95 years, because said Mouse would also be part of the public domain now. Ironically if they hadn't lobbied to extend the law like that they could now put a Superman and Batman version in the Avengers with no issues at all. If they were to try a Squadron Supreme movie or even just put Hyperion and Nighthawk in a Marvel movie, you can bet your sweet tuchus that DC/WB would step in with the lawyers.
Let's also forget that copyright is being extended all the time. This practice started back when Disney realized they were about to lose their favorite (ripped off) mouse.
Mickey Mouse is not ripped off
Captain Jakemerica, well Mickey is technically a rip off of Walt's first character Oswald
StitchLock aren't they both Walt's characters?
Yes and No the story of Oswald is very complex
StitchLock Mickey was indeed a ripoff of Oswald but only to replace him after Universal took the rights from Disney. It's like WWE creating fake diesel and fake razor ramon after Kevin Nash & Scott Hall left for WCW.
me after superman goes into public domain: SUPERMAN V. PIKACHU - THE GIANT-SIZE ONE-SHOT THAT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING
Pity Pikachu isn't public domain.
It'll be one day and I'll be here waiting in the shadows for my time to shine.
SmashingStar Gamer lol jokes on you i'm an immortal being
Pikachu is a TPC
You can still make it as a parody. Fair use.
Superman, Batman et. all will never fall into public domain, because all those characters are protected as trademarks also
+Club Nientiendo But the character itself would, and just like Captain Marvel, one could make a new comic hero with his exact abilities/themes/format and be perfectly safe from lawsuit. You just couldn't call him a trade marked name. I'm thing UltraMale last male child from the planet Radon.
+Joey Stahl he said "ultramale" not "ultraman"
sooper man from the planet cripton with the power
+Brian Huynh to ect
+Brian Huynh or Suppaman, who has a secret identity of the reporter Kuraaku Kenta (that actually happens in Dr. Slump)
If I could do anything with Superman but couldn't reference anything from the last 75 years... I would make him obsessed with Soup... it's the only idea I have right now
Or cakes! That would make his relationship with Lex Luthor even more intense
I shat on the carpet. Hope my mom doesn't notice. He would be so angry that Lex Luthor took fort cakes.
Incoming wave of fanfics for sale . . .
Kieran Ben Clarke You can use the Fleischer version of Superman. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(1940s_cartoons)
I think Paul Jennings or someone affiliated with him once wrote a short comedy story about how it's misspelt and is actually "Souperman."
And he get's his powers temporarily from soup.
Some years ago i did some research on comics that have fallen into the public domain thinking I'd write a short story about them, but didn't find any that spoke to me today. There's a reason I suppose why no one's messed with the ones still out there. Most of them aren't inspiring and a few of them are even kinda offensive by today's standards. World War Two was a weird time.
If I could write a story about the Superman and Batman of the 1940s, I'd actually write about modern day in a world where the stories of Superman and Batman happened as depicted in the early material (what we now call The Golden Age) but The Justice Society prematurely ended, and all costumed vigilantes disappeared by the 1950s. Few today believe they really existed. If anyone still remembers, they're dead or dying from old age, and someone or something has rewritten history to erase superheroes from The Human Condition.
Fast forward to today: young Kimberly Kent finds out by accident she is the descendant of Superman (whom she's never heard of but her nerdy bookworm friend Buffy Allen has) but some people named Doctor Occult and Madame Rose put a magic spell on The Kent family line that made Grampa Clark human and not alien, but that magic spell's wearing off. Meanwhile, ne'er do well blacksheep Wendel has recently become the sole surviving heir of the WayneMart fortune, due to some questionable circumstances, and while liquidating assets to pay off his gambling debts, he happens upon The Batcave. The gadgets are antiques, but Wendel has a soft spot for this sort of thing, and decides to become a vigilante for kicks. Only, his idea of peacekeeping leaves a bit to be desired. Someone's gonna have to stop him, and the only person more powerful than a rich guy with too many toys is a clumsy young girl who can jump an eighth of a mile, almost chase down a speeding train, and is kinda sorta bullet proof. Maybe.
In the process of the first stories, it's revealed this world was supposed to be teeming with costumed vigilantes, but time travelers in the late 21st century coupled with magic users back in the early 1940s conspired to radically change human history for the time traveler's own self-centered ends, After a fashion, Wendel and Kimberly are forced to work together to restore the timeline and save humanity from itself.
Zachs Mind Yes. but you'd have to use the Superman from the Fleischer shorts. as he and his universe are public domain compared to the mainstream and other versions. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superman_(1940s_cartoons)
Zachs Mind Are you an author? That seriously sounds like an actual book. Please make it one.
Zachs Mind This Concept reminds me of Mark Millar's Wanted.
+Zachs Mind Why are you still here? Why aren't you writing this, dammit?! Make a Captain Ersatz, or use a Golden Age Superman/Batman rip-off! Or go to DC with this! GO MAN GO! Please, I want to read this! PLEASE!
Superman, also grew much more powerful than his initial introduction in the golden age, before they transferred over to the silver age in 1956 to the point he had most of his modern day superpowers.
So if alll of those stories in the golden age are true then Superman and his offspring as a result would have:
Superhuman strength
Superhuman speed - and to give scale he could runs so fast in this time period he went through time.
Superhuman senses (including telescopic vision, x-ray vision, superhuman hearing, microscopic vision)
Invulnerability
Superhuman breath
Flight (initially enhanced jumping, super-leaping)
Vocal abilities, including ventriloquism
To preserve your story you would have to cut out most of the things that happen in the 1940's with superman. A way to make this work would be to say the stories aren't true, but they are based on real events.
Batman would also have issues because he got super campy in the 40's and sported tons of "science" that it defies any logical explanation.
Not trying to rain on your parade with any ill intent, just pointing out the flaws in your conceptions of the golden age superman and Batman that would be a flaw in your story.
FYI - Learned Hand is considered one of the best judges in U.S. history.
I prefer to think of this as: "Superman's earliest stories are not in the Public Domain...yet"
yes stories go into the public domain not the characters
In the year 2033 everything in 1938 including every issue of Action Comics from that year will be ours to own. That year will be very historic. More so then Mickie Mouse going into the Public Domain.
The Project Superpowers books from Dynamite Comics prove that wonderful things can be done with public domain characters.
I serve as an admin for a page about comic book characters and the public domain. I am endlessly explaining the general concepts and specifics of public domain law as they apply to specific stories and characters. I do not think I have ever heard a better explanation than what is happening right here in this video.
Will Superman ever enter the public domain? Probably not entirely...
By my count, it will be many more years before Superman enters the public domain by U.S. Copyright law. Just because the inevitable date of expiration approaches, does not mean that a specific character will ever enter the public domain. The U.S. Congress has a habit of changing the rules and extended copyrights every several years. This last happened in the 1990s with the Sonny Bono Act, and it is widely perceived that Disney is the force behind the scenes which pushes for these extensions. As the rules keep getting changed to protect Micky Mouse's copyright, other characters like Superman get caught in Micky's wake and see their own copyrights extended perpetually.
That part about the "U.S." is an important distinction. American copyright laws are more complex and last longer than the copyright laws of just about any other nation on the planet. Most other nations go by the rules of the Berne Convention. The Berne Convention is a treaty which states that member nations (169 of them and counting) must have copyrights which last a minimum duration; member nations are free to extend their own copyrights longer if they like. The Berne Convention states that copyrights should last for the creator's life and fifty years following the creator's death. There is a loophole for when an creator is unknown. In the case of Superman, we know the creators: Joe Shuster (who died in 1992) and Jerry Siegel (who died in 1996). Even Disney cannot write the laws in 169 countries. Simple addition tells me that the international copyrights on the first Superman story are set to expire in 2046 regardless of the U.S. Congress does.
That means people outside of the U.S. will be able to make their own Superman movies, video games, and -- yes -- comic books on January 1st, 2046. Only Americans will be shackled by copyright extensions.
Take all of this with a grain of kryptonite. I am not a copyright attorney (which is why I am not charging you for this consultation). I am just a self-educated armchair know-it-all.
Just so that you are aware, many countries have recently extended the length of copyright protection to 70 years after the death of the last surviving author, including all the EU countries. Canada will very likely do so too because the newly revised NAFTA trade deal sets life+70 as the minimum length of copyright protection. So Superman won't enter the public domain in these countries until 2067 (71 years after Siegel's death).
Even then, it's very likely that Superman will be protected by various trademarks. As long as they are still being actively used, they do not ever expire. This could prevent anyone from releasing unauthorized new Superman movies or comics featuring the name "Superman" or his likeness even after the original comics have entered the public domain.
@@photios4779 thank you for that update
@@lordzaboem Do research, becsue you haven’t done any. in most countries it’s author’s life + 70 years. And the authors of works of marvel and dc characters didn’t die till like the 60s,70s and 90s.As of writing, marvel and DC’s characters first appearances wouldn’t be public domain in most countries till the 2060s or longer. It wouldn’t be PD in North America Canada or Mexico or any country in Latin America. It wouldn’t be PD in any country of Europe since there it’s firmly author’s life + 70 years. It wouldn’t be Public domain in pretty much most countries in Africa,most countries in Asia, or even any countries in Oceania. Did you pass high school?
@@lordzaboem copyright law is way longer internationally. For example, take a look at Europe, even when talking about non EU countries. Copyright law in Europe is very much the same. the first ever marvel/dc character created was Dr Occult. And since Jerry Siegel (longest surviving author) only died in the 1996. Dr occult’s first appearance wouldn’t hit the PD in Europe alone till 2068. And the same would apply to other regions like Latin America,both Canada and Mexico, most parts of Africa and Asia and pretty much the entirety of oceanica
@@ComicJunkie Woah dude, there's NO reason to make rude remarks towards the guy like "Did you pass high school?" That's completely uncalled for. Yes, you are encouraged to correct any factual errors, but you can do so respectfully. Besides, if you consult the Wikipedia article called "List of countries' copyright lengths" you'll see that outside North America and Europe, the Berne Convention minimum of life + 50 years is still fairly common internationally. I do think though that in light of the pressure big countries and regions like the U.S. and EU are exerting on others through international trade deals, life + 70 is gradually becoming the new international norm and anything less will be rare within a few decades time. Japan went from life + 50 to life + 70 last year (if I recall correctly) and the renegotiated NAFTA (now called the USMCA) means that Canada must follow suit by next year at the latest.
Copyright shouldn't be indefinite and the spirit of it is to protect the intellectual property of individual creators, not the intellectual property of big companies. Think how much poorer we would be culturally if we could not make our own versions of Thor and Hercules because some companies had renewed the copyright for thousands of years.
DisThoughts it's actually going that way next time the copyright stuff is up for renewal.
Pretty much everyone is cool with some sort of terms along the lines of "lifetime of the creator +20 years after death" or similar type deal.... but not a company makinh millions forever after the guy died deal.
Well, you can't copyright Hercules or Thor because they're religious figures. It's against the law.
Joseph Keenan. Unfortunately the "lifetime of the creator +20 years" isn't going to realistically happen because nearly all countries have long ago implemented into law the Berne convention which makes life + 50 the absolute minimum copyright term. While most of the general public does not support copyright extension, large media giants like Disney with lots of lobbyists and a back catalog of old copyrights do. That's why the U.S. and the EU have been using trade deals to try to pressure other countries into ratcheting up their copyright terms to life + 70. Several countries have done so within the past twenty years (or have even gone beyond this, such as Mexico's life + 99). As of this writing, the U.S. is pressuring Canada to increase its copyright to life + 70 in the NAFTA renegotiations. Things are still going in the _wrong_ direction.
You can use Thor and Hercules just as much you like without copy right problems. And they are used. What you can't do, is make Thor look like the Marvel version of Thor, or probably have Kevin Sorbo acting your version of Hercules.
Thor and Hercules are characters from mythology. They are automatically in the public domain.
Whatever happens, DC (and Marvel) will never let go of their cash cows. Even if it means first putting out a good story like the "Death of Superman", then retconning it by bringing him back to life.
+Bernard Gilbert Did you think that Death of Superman was a good story?
"Nelson and Murdock, Best avocados at law"
I love that reference
Nobody likes legal mumbo jumbo, but you did a great job of making it interesting. Maybe in the future you can do a similar video about how DC and Marvel own the word "Superhero" and all of its different spellings and variations.
He's already mentioned this in another video
***** This will be a thing I do in the future, for sure. It's already on the list! The issue is that there seems to be some confusion about the difference between trademark and copyright, so I'd want to clear that up. Plus, there's an interesting legal battle going on right now about the word "superhero" so I want to wait until that's wrapped up before I give it a go.
"Avocados at Law"
THANK YOU!!! I love Daredevil references!!!
being a dc fan, I don't see what it could hurt being in the public domain since it can't get any worse than what dc has been putting out.I don't think I'll get anymore current dc issues until dan didio steps down. also it might be better to have somone writing comics for comics sake instead of trying to write comics for movies.
pish posh Amen!
Have you read DC Rebirth? It's really good!
Philip Cardillo PREACH MY BROTHA
A comment written in the days of the new 52. Before rebirth fixed everything
Then rebirth came out and proved you entirely wrong
Personally, I don't have an issue with copyright extending indefinitely for creative works. For inventions and other things I think it makes more sense for copyright to end sooner, so that they can be improved upon. But a creative work isn't really anyone but the creators.
Once the creator dies it should still be their right to choose who owns it, or to let it go to public domain. If the creator is a company, it makes sense for the company to continue owning it.
How about every time DC reboots their continuity, the former version of the characters enters the public domain as being abandoned?
Maybe then they will stop ruining stories with cross over "undo" events.
@I'm On Your Roof that made no sense
Hey, I hope to see you guys at Vidcon! I'm totally hooked on your channel btw.
Can you do a long detailed video all about The Joker? Like more in depth than usual? He's my favorite DC villain. Thanks.
Joker is so overexposed. It's not interesting to hear about him anymore.
EPS5000 I vote he should do a psychological analysis on ALL of Batman's major villains. Or maybe even Batman himself. Whatever Scott chooses . . .
YES TO BOTH YES
gwkowe There is a video about Batman in youtube.Psychology of Batman.
I vote yes to both btw..Batman for me is the most interesting character out there
PLEASE
Considering how Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were treated by DC, i don't think there could be any moral objections about DC losing their copyright on Supes to the public domain.
thats irrelevant and will never happen because there is no copyright on superman. characters are trademarked not copyrighted. and are you mad? superman is literally the flagship character of DC. it makes no sense for him to be PD. it makes no sense for any marvel or dc character to be PD.
@@ComicJunkie Someone is mad, that's for sure. And we both know what was meant, play semantics all you like. Have fun simping for DC & di3 mad, dude.
@@ACooperrocks your very dumb and no I ain't mad but just saying that you don't know jack about IP law.
and your logic is flawed, by your logic that literally means that marvel shouldn't own captain america because of how badly they mistreated the creators Jack Kirby and Joe simon. Dude it makes no sense for supes or just any marvel or dc character to be PD. superman literally represents the DC brand, thats their flaghsip property. the character itself will never go into the public domain only stories of him might. the same thing with batman,captain america,spider man and virtually any marvel and dc character out there.
@@ComicJunkie If you're gonna call someone dumb, the least you can do is spell YOU'RE right, or just write "You are". Also i never commented on the legality of the issue, so my point stands. Stay mad and di3 mad, my friend.
One thing this video is a bit confusing about is that yes, Superman would have been lapsing about right now at the time it was recorded if the copyright extension of the 90's hadn't happened, but...without the first extension the character would have actually lapsed in 1996. we'd be 2 decades into Superman lore by now and teaming him up with Spider-Man and junk.
Neither extension /needed/ to happen, except for these companies, who needed to steal Batman from us for 40 years.
Hey Scott, can you make a video about why Superheroes have their underwear on the outside?
You may notice that it is mostly golden age superheroes who wear underwears on the outside. This is because bodybuilders and wrestlers wore underwears on the outside of their pants at the time. So basically to make superheroes look strong or remind people of strong men, they wore an underwear on the outside. Since that stuff's kinda outdated, they've gotten rid of it in the New 52.
Imran Batra Precisely. It was a kind of visual shorthand back in the day.
***** Funny thing is, I think I first heard that in one of you videos! :)
Imran Batra Haha, well I did talk about it in the 50th episode of CM.
their underwear is inside the outside underwear isn't really underwear. I guess it's like a belt or something to protect.
Copyright is tyranny. It was supposed to encourage creativity, which it USED TO, but now people are abusing it to make it all but impossible to create anything new. In the past, it was highly unlikely that you could accidentally violate someone's copyright. Now, there's so many copyrights out there that its nigh impossible to avoid. I mean, I've heard of people being unable to trademark their own names because of copyright! These days, its all just getting stupid. Especially in superhero comics where pretty much every character you could possibly make has already been done, making it nearly impossible to create anything truly original. And you can see this yourself. Come up with your own superhero, then search for your name. Chances are, there's already a virtually identical character in either DC or Marvel comics. Yeah.
While I think copyright and even fair use are becoming something new and uncontrollable due to the Internet and the way many videos are made using clips, it is important to note The Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) of 1998 is also called the Mickey Mouse Protection Act for a specific reason: Disney fought to extend their rights, which is harming them a bit with the Maker/Blip.tv deal they made.
But public domain characters can make for great stories, from the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore to Dynamite Comics' Project Superpowers stories, which featured all public domain superheroes.
I see this on my feed, and click on it and sit down. I'm like, dude, tell me, inform me, I want to know about this, almost in a relieving way. You have a way of making these videos magnetic and as I've started before, I'm not even a huge comic fan. You just do this sort of thing so well and have a way of capturing interest and attention.
Awesome video! That's a cool factoid.
To your end question, yes I think Superman should enter the public domain, ad every creation should. It's good for creativity, and keeps things less corporate. I do think it won't happen as Disney ups the limit on copyright again to keep Micky Mouse in their coffers.
I don't think I'd like my superheroes being in the public domain, I don't want to have my favorite heroes having knock-off stories. I want the companies that made them to continue their story and not have some comic anarchy. It just wouldn't feel right to read a story about Superman if it wasn't printed by DC
I agree
That and...*shudders* fan fiction
Dark_Envy ugh
Joshua Embry
For me a lot of the current copyright laws are obscene and I wouldn't mind a little comic anarchy,
But I'm kind of cynical that way.
cha5 ok
I would make "Superman Everlasting" A Superman that lived for 10,000 years.
I think One Punch Man should definetly be in the public domain... just for fun... The people seem to not understand the difference between canon, lore and public domain. Canon is something the story tellers accept as "current, active story-line", lore is whatever was published by the original artist(s) or deemed "genuine" by the copyright holders, while public domain means everyone can use it. So, all in all, one could make use of a character in the public domain, wihout messing wiht the canon or even the lore. For example, the Raspberry Pi is open source, and anyone can create and sell them, legelly, but people still do buy from the developers, in order to support them and to recive more high-quality products from them, updates, maintainance, and god-knows-what. And I don't see the developers of Raspberry Pi boards going bankrupt any time soon.
The Superman cartoons, which was created by Max Fleischer in the early 1940s.
Although all entries are in the public domain, ancillary rights such as merchandising contract rights, as well as the original 35mm master elements, are owned today by Warner Bros. Entertainment. Warner has owned Superman publisher DC Comics since 1969.
Very cool. Copyright laws are mental. We have some particularly interesting ones in the UK and the rest of Europe!
Yeah, I agree, have you seen the outrageous stuff going on with RUclips's copyright policies?!
RUclipss policies are mental!
@@Donovampire yea youtube another case it can't be compared they just suck at their job getting rid of the wrong things and sometimes don't even do the job of getting rid of the right ones
the first time i watched this, i had not watched daredevil, now the whole "avocados" thing makes a lot more sense lol
I just imagine M. Night Shamalan standing up in the middle of the trial, saying "What a twist?" as Fawcett's defence attorney is explaining why Sups' was in the public domain.
Hey Scott!
I'm a TV station engineer, but my degrees are actually in Mass Communications and foreign language. Communications law was absolutely part of the curriculum for me to graduate!
You should be proud of this video. As far as I can tell, you did get exactly one thing wrong, as you predicted. However, it was just a superficial little thing: Judge Learned Hand's first name is pronounced the Shakespearean way, "Learn’ed,” with two syllables. So, well done!
An extra little tidbit you might find interesting: modern copyright law in the U.S. does not require registration or use of the copyright symbol in order for a work to be copyrighted. A work only needs to be put down on paper, or captured on tape or recorded digitally, in prefer for protection to be granted.
Cheers from Nashville!
-Russ
My favorite versions of both Superman and Batman are the characters on HISHE. These are already legal as parody. I don't really see a need for anything else.
Hey. Hey.
_Wanna know my secret identity?_
If he was public domain, I would be selling my fanfiction! XD Budumtiss! All jokes aside, it wouldn't be much.
Speaking of Fables... Will you make a misconceptions video on fables? I just love the series. :)
Intersting note: Billy Batson (Shazam)'s home town is Fawcett City. I dunno if that was the case back when Cpt. Marvel was under Fawcett Publication, but I think that's a nice little nod to those days.
I think all comic book characters should be public domain. Think of how many fans popular comic book characters have. Superman, Batman, Green lantern, Spider-man, Blade, Punisher, Venom, Ghost Rider etc. If all comic book characters were public domain, not only would fans be able to write their own stories about their favorite characters, but they could write their own stories about their favorite character and they could write stories where they become said character and it would inspire a lot of people to practice writing and character design. It would allow fans to really use their imagination when working on something they care deeply about. Just think of the possibilities.
That makes no sense so your saying that marvel and dc shouldn’t own their own characters?
copyright is BAD for the comic industry, when\if DC or Marvel go under it will be 75 years tell the fans can use their favourites and you can bet that it will be purchased by a new company that just want to make money and not respect what makes the fans love them
+Leon Valenzuela 95 years, 75 was 1979 copyright act... the 1998 copyright act bumped it up to 95 years
Not necessarily. It just means less hoops they would have to go through. Sure, let's say Spidey was in public domain, every film company could make Spidey, but, Marvel could still do their official version without going through copyright loopholes.
@@KTF0 ye spider man will never be public domain lol
@KTF0 Don't listen to him. He obviously doesn't understand how copyright works. Literally Mickie Mouse this year has entered into the Public Domain
Alright, i have a question, why is thor the god of Thunder when he shoots lighting out of his hammer
Do one next on how Disney Lobbied Congress with millions of dollars to add those extra 20 years so Micky Mouse would not fall into public domain, the Irony being Disney waited until jungle Book fell into PD to make that into a movie plus many other PD classic they have made their own. I bet when time comes due they will lobby Congress again to add another 20 years.
I blame The Walt Disney Company for expanding it to keep Mickey Mouse copyrighted.
I don't find it a problem
Hey Scott, this isn't exactly related, but I have an idea for a new episode: How Did Cable Become a Cyborg?
Thanks for this video Scott I've learned a lot about Superman (legally speaking I mean) you did a great job as usual
I'm so glad this is being discussed. I've been thinking for a very long time now that Superman should be in the public domain, not because I don't like what DC is doing with him but just so that other people can produce Superman media of their own interpretations, too.
I think the character's influence has become so wide and huge by now that everybody who likes Superman has a Superman that's not necessarily the same as another person's Superman. That's why, no matter what DC does -- Supeman as a boy scout, or social activist, or tyrant, or outsider, or warrior -- people are always split between liking and not liking it. A lot of people have their own Superman that's not whatever DC is putting out at the moment. Putting him in public domain (and using the multiverse as an excuse for the different interpretations) could solve this problem.
Maybe that could be a good campaign to do for Superman's 100th anniversary: get the character in the public domain. Heck, DC could even write the story arc that would end with Superman becoming a "multiversal being", making it coincide with his release into the public domain. It would also free DC from what sometimes seems to be a burden to them: having to put Superman front and center in stories and events they don't really seem to want to. DC could finally go ahead and make Batman their main without pretension whatsoever.
Oh look words in the thumbnail, time to watch this video!
Definitely one of my favorite videos you guys have done!
thanks for explaining some key details in how this all works
Scott will we see more of those headcannon videos in the future? I really enjoyed them.
DC lawyers will renew it indefinitely.
They won't be able to
www.grunge.com/165037/popular-characters-that-will-soon-be-public-domain/
@@antovald20 they will it makes no sense you cannot have superman in anywhere else but DC.
@@ComicJunkie There's a limit. Disney couldn't renew and now very soon Mickey Mouse will be in the public domain
@@antovald20 that made no sense either they can be renewed. how can disney's flagship character be public domain? you cannot have mickey mouse in anywhere else but disney. and no there really isn't a limit. mickey mouse will always be exclusive to disney and superman will always be exclusive to dc. and that is not up for discussion dude. marvel and dc are gonna be making comics,games,tv shows and movies on their properties. they aren't go anywhere. they never will.its a fantasy
@@ComicJunkie Maybe you should research Public Domain a little bit. When anyone makes anything, and that particular person passes away. That particular person's work will officially belongs to the people after certain years and if anyone renews or inherent the work, but still there's a limit and once it's reached that person's work is free for all to use as however they want.
Just look at Sherlock Holmes. His a Public Domain character, and look at how many people did their own spin on that character. His popular because anyone is free to use him.
I love copyright stuff! (Talking about it anyhow.) Do more like this!
You actually cleared this up nicely. I originally thought that since the original Superman (from Earth 2) was changed along the lines (during the late 1950s/ early 1960s) to the Silver Age (Earth 1) Superman, the copyright would hold because it was ANOTHER character with the name who could the carry the copyright along for another 75/ 95 years.
@NedSync: Haven't seen any new videos in a while, or, at least as often as you used to make them... But, from your 2 videos, this one and the one about Shazam and Captain Marvel... I was thinking about how interesting it is that NOW, no one can sue for copyright infringement for characters created WITH superpowers that are clearly similar if not the same as Superman, such as Super Strength, Super Invulnerability and Flight. I was wondering if you could do a video about that... If you can of course. I love how you explain things... Always been a fan of your stuff.
I can't wait until all these iconic characters enter the Public Domain.
2033 and onward will be exciting Public Domain Days. I can only imagine what creative works will be done with all these characters.
He will never be public domain
@@ComicJunkie Yes he will. Just like every other character that's been created
@@ComicJunkie Just like Winnie-the-Pooh a literary character
@@ComicJunkie Or the many comic book characters that fell into the public domain like...
1-Catman
2-Black Terror
3- Fighting Yank
4- Amazing Man
5- The Question
@@antovald20 No the Question is the sole property of DC comics. No one else can use him. Dude just accept the reality. These characters will never be public domain
Yay! You used a daredevil reference!
In three years, "The Shadow" hits public domain.
Hence why you see limited runs of stories containing 'Golden Age' characters, even if they've died or been killed off or heavily retconned. Retention of copyright especially with golden age heroes not in the 'big three' is deemed necessary especially in cases of the original Green Lantern, Flash, etc. The interesting part is non copyrighted characters existing in multiple comic book universes. Hercules, Zeus, Ares, Athena, Hera all existing in Marvel, DC, the Xenaverse, and many more. To retain rights to Superman a few years back had to make deals restoring some ownership rights to Schuster and Siegel, creators they'd screwed the rights out of decades earlier. The copyright of 'for hire' works have a far shorter term because original creators of the content received no financial benefit beyond their original contract.
I'd like to see a more lax view on copyright taken. Like it'd be nice for DC and Marvel to digitally distribute fan comics of the heroes. It'd be both a great way of scouting talent and a great way of winning over good PR for the company
+S Clair Well I know in Japan, they're a little looser in their copyright though it depends on the medium. You're allowed to sell fan-manga of an official title.
***** Kind of but I sincerely doubt they'd let a fan film be made if they knew about it. Japanese companies are notoriously bad with online copyright
+BlackMetalJacket [X] Only on conversations, like comiket, not in stores.
+S Clair I would be satisfied is the U.S. were to simply streamline their copyright laws so that they matched nearly every other nation. There is an international treaty called the Berne Convention, and it dates back all the way to the 19th Century. The Berne Convention states that (when dealing with published stories) that copyrights must last at least as long as the creator's life plus fifty years. That's good enough for lots of other countries. the U.S. has by far the most complex copyright laws I know.
+Scott Gastineau In response to the first part of your comment I will say this (I'm not attacking you here) Us Americans have never wanted to bend to what other countries are doing. It's in our blood to deify what other countries want us to do (As is the reason why we came to be). But the copyright thing is ridiculous, I feel like it should be a lot less then what even the Berne Convention says. I think it lasting as long as the creators life is good enough. And, in the event of their untimely death, you could add 10 years to the copyright (Thus giving, say, a guys wife the ability to have an income after his death)
DC fucked up even more when they let their trademark on Captain Marvel expire. That's how Marvel comics have a Captain Marvel and DC has to call their's Shazam. These are the same idiots producing BvS so don't get your hopes up too high on that movie.
+Dan Howard Technically warner brothers/Zack Snyder are in charge of the movies DC takes no real personal action in the media in any way the only person who even does do anything like that is Geoff johns but only from time to time as he is most of the time preoccupied writing comics P.S I take it you have zero interest in seeing the movie or basically can tell its going to be a failure from the trailers and character casting. P.S.S what's so bad about him going by shazam is not like its an awful name
KON- EL Keep apologizing.
***** apologizing I was doing no such thing?
KON- EL Look, on the plus side. I was giving this movie's chance of sucking 87.367%. Now I have it down to 78.362% which is something.
***** might I ask why you think this movie will do so bad is it because of the actors or something else?
I would love if Superman were public domain only so I could write and publish my own Superman stories because I just love the character and his mythology so much.
Scott, would you do a video on the Daleks? I've heard that they've had some history with potentially falling into the public domain but I don't know if that's a rumor or not. I know the Toclafane were made up as a potential replacement for the Daleks in the Time War in case they never got the copyright to the Daleks for when they were making the show in 2005.
1.) Write the Story and get good artwork to go with it.2.) Raise the funds to produce a few thousand copies of said story/ comic. 3.) Have your Lawerys talk to their Lawerys about roralities, " it is late and to much voka," No risk to DC on a bad story, and they have publish alot of bad stories over thirty years.
@@donleonsroszavilla5734 that’s bullocks. How could you have the face of the dc brand in anywhere else but dc?
Well presented and accurate. DC started out with pulps mostly spicy, Marvel was involved with numerous pulps etc. William Gaines was able to get access to the 4 color presses in Conn. Both families who were related went into comic book business. The reason they settled out of court is because they were relatives. They combined their forces and have been able to monopolize the business ever since.
When the original creator dies it should be public domain. Comic heroes are our shared mythology, A company owning them is absurd as a company owning the Greek pantheon.
That’s absolutely bullocks. Creation should never be public domain dude. It should always be owned by a company. It’s their property
@@ComicJunkie Why? They didn't create it. Someone long dead did.
@@ComicJunkie Creation should never be public domain?, So every myth, fairy tale, Character, idea or invention should be forever owned by a corporation. wtf is wrong with you? I guess the Wheel and language should be owned by companies too. You absolute brainlet.
@@momsberettas9576 because it’s their property. It is wrong for companies like dc and marvel to lose their characters to lose their legacy.
@@momsberettas9576when it comes to characters yes it should always belong to the company dude. It’s sickening for it not to be.
I dont get it shazam is nothing like superman superman no wizard no greek gods no lightning and stiff come on if shazams a ripoff then aquaman is too and other chars like vision whatever
I got an interesting question, can a person or company make a Public Domain character into a copyright one? Like make Dracula into a copyright one. To whole character in general. Like no one can use him any more. I am just curious. I don't need a long explanation, just a yes, no or it's complicated.
No.
There are a few things you missed re the National Fawcett suit.
Captain Marvel wasn't actually ruled as infringing Superman.
1. National layers showed images of Superman doing feats and Cap repeating these feats at a later date. Fawcett layers showed that other characters had also done those same feats before Superman. Characters like Popeye and Tarzan. Before any ruling was made the Fawcett layers then presented the newspaper laps argument taking the win in the first suit.
2. The judge who ruled on the appeal said Captain Marvel didn't infringe but that some feats and showing could, allowing the then DC to file suit on different grounds.
It's a minor semantics but pertinent I think. Honestly had Captain Marvel still been selling how he was in the years before I very much doubt Fawcett would have settled. I mean they simply ceased publishing Mater man (their first copy of Superman) as soon as DC filed Suit. Yet when they files Suit for cap, a property that was the highest selling comic character of the time (selling in excess of 1.4- 1.8 million copies per issue) they fought back. When they settled was during the decline of comic superheroes and Cap's sales were hitting lower figures every month. They were as low as 500k and I would guess not worth pursuing in Fawcett's book.
Considering they settled for a measly $400k on a property that was I'm three titles a month for 11 years selling 1.4 - 1.8 milliom copies each issue at a dime they easily made over $4.5m (adjusted for inflation $54m today) not counting the movie serial, advertising revenue (which in a book with that level of circulation would have been massive as well) and any other income. I figure they just figured it was time to cut their losses as they did with mastermam
That was pretty neat.
Ahh the question
Mr. Sparkle I want read all your stories, you are diverse and super interesting to me.
Too bad DC refuses to bring me back.
Try picking up Dennis O'Neil's run on Amazon its amazing if you love Vic Sage!
Do have an account on comicvine?
Is marvel's hyperion character a superman copy?
Spectral Rain Yes.
+JJPivotz To add onto it the creators of said character even flat out admitted that he is marvels official copy of superman
KON- EL like deadpool is deathstroke
No need sync did a video on that topic
4:27 "the best darn avocados at law" Bless you Scott
Nice one!! You did a lot of research really interesting video. Keep up the great work Scott!!
This is soo complicated
they love the money not superman look at the way they f him up in the new 50 EEEEEWWWW
Thank you, Every other time I have said something like that I have been torn in to.
Or they think that a great artist is a great designer. I love Jim lee's art but hate his designs and he did not even design the new 50ew's night wing just took the cape off of the Robin suit from the movie Batman and Robin.
Melville Comics They're ashamed of Superman's legacy?
Is Frank Miller running DC now!? :o
Scott, could you do a video on whether or not villains like Joker or Two-Face (not trying to explicitly name Batman villains) need tons of thugs?
Check the french comics The Chimera Brigade about pre WWII super heroes (not from comics but from pulp novels, like the Shadow, but mostly European). As Superman is pre WWII, he make an appearance, but due to copyright reason, he's called Mr Steel, and you never see his logo. This is the kind of stories I'd like to read if these characters fall in the public domain...
everything should be public domain. viva la revolucion
joe thiziznotreal But then everything will immediately and constantly be butchered and destroyed before the original version can safely be established as the artist's original vision, just like religion... :'(
Intelectual property is not real property.
@@frankstrawnation Intellectual property is real property, they are ideas that were formulated by the respective creator, those should be protected.
Captain Marvel is still better. Billy Batson all the way~
the only reason dc went after the Big Red Cheese is that Capt. Marvel was crushing Supes in sales at the time of the original lawsuit.
CthulhuChow Exactly! Couldn't handle the competition.
CthulhuChow Mmm, big red cheese...
From what I heard, the initial law suit was sueing both Captain Marvel and Superman for being ripoffs of Popeye, which is hilarious.
Sounds like LL Cool J "Hey Lover" lol
I'd get into the psychological aspect of Superman, giving the viewer what it feels like to be all-powerful. I might take a Grant Morrison approach, introducing some spiritual aspects to also give the reader more perspective of Superman's responsibility, and even introduce that he might feel tempted to abandon Earth and begin his own spiritual pilgrimage.
+Gabe Goldiamond I've considered the pilgrimage idea myself, but I suspect he'd have to return in the long-run or risk losing a lot of popularity. Captain Comet left for space adventure and became obscure, though he did leave before becoming widely known on Earth.
I like your approach - though personally I'd go for a more human perspective, focusing on more of Clark Kent's struggles and drama and how that connects to his identity as both the mild-mannered reporter and Superman
@@brianspiess912 wow what a fairytale
Long live captain Marvel!
Great vid, man. Subbed now. Great job on Captain Mervel vs Captain marvel vid too.
I feel like if a company is still actively using their character, making new content with that character, etc...then it shouldn't fall into public domain no matter how much time has passed.
+BabyKrogan That's what trademarks are for. The problem with letting "new content" be the determining factor is then you essentially guarantee that all of these companies will produce junk just to keep up their rights. Just look at the Fantastic Four Movies for instance. Characters can easily be shared by different companies with only benefits for the fans, just look at Sherlock Holmes and the 3 different versions of his character that have been made in the last few years.
No, fiction should be freely available to all, just as it had for thousands of years prior. I, as a creator myself, understand the need for copyright to last some period of time to allow artists to make money, but either once they die or *maybe* once their kids die it should automatically become public domain. The whole reason we think like we do today is because it’s been like it is now for a few generations, but that’s only because Walt Disney got greedy and had the laws changed.
@@Jessie_Helms nope it makes no sense for a company not to exclusively own their property forever
@@ComicJunkie so Robin Hood should be owned by some descendant of a British person?
Who should own Snow White? Gilgamesh? Zoro? Why on earth would you think the Happy Birthday song should still have a copyright on it?
You’re literally defying the last *few thousand years* if not longer of how human nature works.
@@ComicJunkie also why the heck are you replying to a 2+ year old comment on a 5+ year old video...
Wait so 1939 superman is public domain
This only means... BLACK TERROR and DOC STRANGE need a new comic book!
Wasn't Superman's basic concept just John Carter of Mars on Earth? No reason I can't make Jupiter Man, strongest man in the Solar System, sent here to track down some criminal from the Kuiper Belt. With enough creativity, extended copyrights aren't shackles.
When DC and Marvel characters all enter public domain, Marvel Vs. DC movie would be possible.
You should do a tie-in, on who is the center of the marvel universe; Iron man, Cap, etc.?
He should be Public Domain. You should do Captain Marvel.
Tricky decision. If a character stays in the rights of the creator, you can be certain that the material produced with them will either be canon or at least approved by the creator, most of the time. But characters can also be forgotten.
If the rights go public, old forgotten characters can be revived into new stories. But then there are fanfics. Some are good, others...well...
Scott, please make a video about superheroes in public domain like Nemesis.
I imagine that by the end of the century years we'll have like 3 movies coming out at the same time about the same comic book character like what happens now with King Arthur, Robin Hood, the Jungle Book, and other public domain characters.
Funny enough, even if a copyright or trademark is "abandoned". It doesn't mean that the copyright or trademark is in the public domain. If Sega decided to "abandon" their trademark for Sonic the Hedgehog, there would STILL be the 95 years after the publication of the "abandoned" trademark, due to the abandonment date of the trademark status, that date would serve as the amount of time SEGA would have for exclusive trademark usage right for Sonic the Hedgehog. And, then, they could choose to renew it at the 90 mark and continually renew the trademark eternally. As only they would have prior rights in using the trademark.
Jonsy I'd love to learn more about this. Do you have a source please?
US Copyright and Trademark laws are out of control. It's mostly fueled by Hollywood studios like Disney and Warner, but it's not really about protecting artists anymore, it's about corporate welfare. Things NEED to go into the public domain!
Don't know if you have or not already, but I think you should make another Set Update video. Lol. I see a lot of cool geeky things in the background.
PLAN:
-Let people make Superman comics so long as they only charge 1940s prices.
-Only recognize DC-made Superman stuff as automatically canon.
-If you make the better product, people will buy your stuff despite its higher price; if a fan makes a superior product, let their thing have some canon recognition or at least some honorable mention.
This will improve fanfic and brandfic quality overall and encourage engagement with the fans.
One OVA. Project A-Ko. Project A-Ko. Would love to know what you think of this anime. It tried to create the character A-Ko as the daughter of Superman and Wonderwoman, showing the S symbol, Wonderwoman's bracelets and a number of other things but got slapped for copyright after a couple of episodes.
They were forced to remove or write out all DC characters, but the writers (and fans) kinda lost interest in it after that so the series died at 5 or 6 eps.
I would try making superman OP as much as possible
This is the first video of yours I've seen. Love it.
Anything that's been copyrighted should be allowed to be used in the public domain as long as the person in the public domain isn't making money (Or at least a certain amount of money) off of it. Now I know something like this exists to a certain degree, but I'm pretty sure that if the copyright holder was really intent (And was big enough), they could shut down even a non-profit use of the copyrighted item. Which is bull.
Best farm avocados at law on their side... great reference! lmao
I would write a Superman story where he's losing his powers, and villains just happen to start coming after him at that time, so he's getting weaker and weaker and he's racing against the clock to find a cure.
Frost Marvel That'd be a good one. Kind of like when Spider-Man was facing the Sinister Six without any web cartridges. He still had his powers, sure, but he was at a bit of a disadvantage which made it more fun!