The Deadman
01-17-2024, 03:52 PM
https://comicbookmovie.com/justice-league/batman-superman-and-more-dc-copyrights-end-soon-will-knock-offs-include-zack-snyders-super-creepy-ideas-a208918#gs.3r7ua3
In recent years, we’ve seen the copyrights for iconic Disney characters like Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse precursor, Steamboat Willie, enter the public domain. Thus far, that’s only really led to low-budget horror projects with mainstream studios all too aware how unwise it would be to clash with the House of Mouse over copyright law.
Variety reports that DC Comics characters Superman and Lois Lane will enter the public domain in 2034.
Batman will follow in 2035, The Joker in 2036, and then Wonder Woman in 2037.
The clock is ticking.
So, what does that hat mean for these iconic heroes and villains?
The trade explains that we could see a flood of unauthorised Batman comics, for example, arrive in stores.
Movie producers will also be able to put their own spin on these heroes, similar to how we see endless iterations of Dracula and Robin Hood on screen.
Initially, however, they’ll only be able to make use of certain characteristics (when Superman debuted, he could only leap tall buildings in a single bound and was unable to fly).
"Those characteristics are going to fall into the public domain one by one," explains Amanda Schreyer, a media and entertainment lawyer at Morse.
Steven Beer, an IP lawyer at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, adds: "The public’s perception is the contemporary Superman. It’s distinctive. That gives them a lot of protection."
Warner Bros. has some protection and recent copyrights mean they’ll be able to block many attempted knock-offs.
Alas, as Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain reveals, "That only prevents uses that are likely to cause consumer confusion about source or sponsorship."
This means rival creators will simply need to make it clear their versions are not coming from DC.
"You could still create a Superman horror movie or Batman horror movie," says Jonathan Steinsapir, an IP attorney at KHIKS.
"You just need to be careful about how you advertise it and how you use images of Superman in a branding sense…Zack Snyder could reshoot it and make his own new iteration of it. You just need to be careful. For example, he definitely couldn’t call it ‘Justice League.’"
The trade elaborates on that, revealing Zack Snyder’s original DCEU pitch to Warner Bros.
involved Bruce Wayne impregnating Lois Lane, only for Superman to raise the Caped Crusader’s son after his death.
Wonder Woman, meanwhile, was set to brandish the decapitated heads of her enemies.
An insider explains his ideas were rejected by the studio for being, and we quote, "super creepy."
As for what this means for the new DCU, the trade says, "At a press event in 2023, CEO James Gunn noted that the next Superman film will introduce characters from ‘The Authority,’ a comic series that launched in 1999, in part because the Superman copyright is about to expire."
In recent years, we’ve seen the copyrights for iconic Disney characters like Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse precursor, Steamboat Willie, enter the public domain. Thus far, that’s only really led to low-budget horror projects with mainstream studios all too aware how unwise it would be to clash with the House of Mouse over copyright law.
Variety reports that DC Comics characters Superman and Lois Lane will enter the public domain in 2034.
Batman will follow in 2035, The Joker in 2036, and then Wonder Woman in 2037.
The clock is ticking.
So, what does that hat mean for these iconic heroes and villains?
The trade explains that we could see a flood of unauthorised Batman comics, for example, arrive in stores.
Movie producers will also be able to put their own spin on these heroes, similar to how we see endless iterations of Dracula and Robin Hood on screen.
Initially, however, they’ll only be able to make use of certain characteristics (when Superman debuted, he could only leap tall buildings in a single bound and was unable to fly).
"Those characteristics are going to fall into the public domain one by one," explains Amanda Schreyer, a media and entertainment lawyer at Morse.
Steven Beer, an IP lawyer at Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith, adds: "The public’s perception is the contemporary Superman. It’s distinctive. That gives them a lot of protection."
Warner Bros. has some protection and recent copyrights mean they’ll be able to block many attempted knock-offs.
Alas, as Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain reveals, "That only prevents uses that are likely to cause consumer confusion about source or sponsorship."
This means rival creators will simply need to make it clear their versions are not coming from DC.
"You could still create a Superman horror movie or Batman horror movie," says Jonathan Steinsapir, an IP attorney at KHIKS.
"You just need to be careful about how you advertise it and how you use images of Superman in a branding sense…Zack Snyder could reshoot it and make his own new iteration of it. You just need to be careful. For example, he definitely couldn’t call it ‘Justice League.’"
The trade elaborates on that, revealing Zack Snyder’s original DCEU pitch to Warner Bros.
involved Bruce Wayne impregnating Lois Lane, only for Superman to raise the Caped Crusader’s son after his death.
Wonder Woman, meanwhile, was set to brandish the decapitated heads of her enemies.
An insider explains his ideas were rejected by the studio for being, and we quote, "super creepy."
As for what this means for the new DCU, the trade says, "At a press event in 2023, CEO James Gunn noted that the next Superman film will introduce characters from ‘The Authority,’ a comic series that launched in 1999, in part because the Superman copyright is about to expire."