Results under "Public Domain"

Last week, the New York Times reported that the internationally famous book “Diary of a Young Girl” by Anne Frank had suddenly gained a new co-author, her father, Otto Frank. The reason for this has to do with the copyright afforded Anne Frank. She died in 1945, which means that “Diary of a Young Girl,” having exhausted its “life of the author plus 70 years” copyright term, will enter the public domain in most of the world on January 1, 2016. Yet, the Anne Frank Fonds, the Swiss foundation that holds the copyright in “Diary of a Young Girl,” contends that Anne’s father, Otto, is a co-author of the work, so this seminal work will not pass into the public domain until 2050, 70 years after the death of Otto. Are they right? Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., examines the contentions of the Foundation and asks “can you really be a co-author with someone who is dead?”

On September 22, 2015, a Federal Judge granted partial summary judgement in favor of the Plaintiffs who were seeking a declaration that the song Happy Birthday was in the public domain. News agencies rushed out to trumpet the news that the Judge’s ruling meant Happy Birthday was in the public domain. Except that the Judge did not rule that Happy Birthday was in the public domain. What he in fact ruled could be far more damaging to the interests of Warner Chappell Music. What’s the future of Happy Birthday? Nova Southern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., traces the long tortured history of the world’s most popular song and finds that Happy Birthday’s publisher may want to start singing the blues.

Following on heels of the successful lawsuit declaring Sherlock Holmes to be in the public domain, a lawsuit was filed last week seeking to do the same to Buck Rogers. This suit goes along with similar lawsuits involving the song “Happy Birthday” and the famous literary character “Zorro.” Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., takes a look at the litigation, the law, and the facts to see whether the rights holders have reason to cheer, or whether it’s time to say “bye, bye, bye” to these three iconic works.

It has become very fashionable to insist that copyrights be pushed into the public domain absolutely as soon as possible. This way, the argument goes, they can be copied and built upon by others. Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., asks, since when did copying become creativity? He breaks down the arguments and shows how not only does the premise not hold up, but creative restrictions in fact encourage rather than inhibit creativity.

James Bond has defeated many formidable villains. But now he faces the most powerful, unstoppable and implacable foe yet: the public domain! On January 1, 2015, the copyrights on the 12 James Bond novels and two collections of short stories written by Ian Fleming entered the public domain in Canada, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa, Thailand and dozens of other nations. Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., examines what this means for our intrepid hero, now and in the future.

The end is near for both Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse. Pooh will hit the public domain in the year 2022. Mickey will follow in 2024. The loss of these merchandising monsters will put a big dent in the earnings of the Walt Disney Company. They’re not going to take this lying down, will they? Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., takes a look at the possible legal strategies that might be employed to keep Pooh and Mickey firmly within the Disney kingdom.

Last week, everything about broadcasting music changed. For the first time, a Federal Judge in California has ruled that records made before February 15, 1972 had performance rights under California law. This means that every radio broadcaster, satellite broadcaster and internet radio station in the State that played a record by The Beatles, The Doors, Jimi Hendrix or Janis Joplin was potentially breaking the law, and owes damages. Nova Southeastern University's Copyright Officer, Stephen Carlisle, J.D., takes an in-depth look at the current litigation and what the ruling means for the future of broadcasting and the internet.