Public Domain Questions... Popeye DVD's? (1 Viewer)

[DeathStar1]

Here's something I've been wondering about, after reading an article on Popeye DVD's at AnimationonDVD.com .

They state that some Popeye Cartoons have fallen into public Domain, since no one has chosen to renew the copyrights. So, here's my question...

Does that mean that anyone, so long as it's a registerd company with the Government, can release a Popeye DVD set of said cartoons? If so, then why dosn't someone tape the restored cartoons off of Cartoon Network, and release a DVD Set of them? Obviously after getting the OK from the network to do so....

It seems like other companies are releasing these cartoons in chopped up, shoddy colorized versions, and only Cartoon Network seems to be treating them with respect, albeit at the 1 AM hour...It's too bad they don't release these on their own DVD Division officially...

 

[Grant B]

I have heard one reason for the popularity of It's a wonderful Life, is the picture was never renewed and fell into public domain...in other words TV stations did not have to pay to show it. And show it alot they did!

I guess CN is using the freebees late at night (Thank God no info-mercials!)..Not sure about putting it out on media is ok.

Amazing how few cartoons have come out on DVD!

 

[Patrick McCart]

There's a minor snag...many..not all of the Popeye cartoons are public domain.

Also, the character isn't public domain.

This is why you rarely see public domain tapes/DVD's of Looney Tunes anymore. Falling Hare, a Bugs Bunny cartoon, is public domain, but the music, characters, and logos are still under copyright.

King Features and WB are working something out (CN's "The Popeye Show" features restored versions of the cartoons in the original B&W form (and some color cartoons))

A DVD or set of Popeye DVD's would be mutually profittable for both WB and King Features. WB has wanted to release Popeye videos for a very long time, but King Features always has some rights problem with them. KFS isn't going anywhere if they keep holding the cartoons down. I'd personally like to be able to see them other than on TV.

 

[Damin J Toell]

Falling Hare, a Bugs Bunny cartoon, is public domain, but the music, characters, and logos are still under copyright.

if anything, a possible distributor of such a cartoon might fear WB's attorneys moreso than the law itself.

DJ

 

[Jesse Skeen]

There's a Popeye cartoon of each of Elite's Drive-in Discs, BTW.

 

[Steve Meskell]

Does anyone have this Popeye DVD???
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...850433-3788700

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Frankly, rather than buying PD discs I am making s-vhs tapes of the GOOD stuff off of Cartoon Network late Sunday nights. The old Paramount stuff looks good, and is fantastic writing and animation. An s-vhs tape from a good source looks better than a PD dvd from a bad source. I don't like spending money on PD, either.

Of course, my s-vhs tapes are just to tide me over. I'd MUCH rather have official DVD sets from Warner / King Features / Paramount.

 

[Josh Simpson]

Popeye Rules! I'd love to see it on DVD.

 

[Joseph DeMartino]

the copyrightability of characters, especially those whose first appearances have fallen in the public domain, is a generally muddled and contradictory area of case law.

But trademarking a character isn't, and trademarks don't expire. If a character in a short is trademarked you'd be on pretty shaky legal ground airing or selling it, even if the film itself were public domain. Since certain names can also be trademarked, it might even be difficult to tell people what you were selling.

Regards,

Joe