Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is public domain! (Or at least is in theory)

[neatoman]

Alright, so while we have to wait another year for Mickey Mouse to enter the public domain, the character he was meant to replace, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, is seemingly public domain as of today. Here is the first Oswald short in question that has entered the public domain:

Now let's keep in mind that the Walt Disney company might still hold the rights to trademark "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" and no court cases have been held over the character yet. But according to American copyright law, this short premiered over 95 years ago and should thus be in the public domain, along with the characters in it.

[Cowabung-Gal]

So that means it’s open season, or should I say, rabbit season, for Oswald.

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by Cowabung-Gal

So that means it’s open season, or should I say, rabbit season, for Oswald.

Well, yeah? I mean the character should be public domain, you can pretty much do whatever you want with the character.

[LeotheLateBloomer]

Didn't they just produce a new Oswald short last year?

[neatoman]

Originally Posted by LeotheLateBloomer

Didn't they just produce a new Oswald short last year?

Yes, they did.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

(Yes, I still browse here occasionally!)

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit has been in the public domain for almost 70 years. The "Trolley Troubles" short appeared in 1927. At the time, copyright lasted for 28 years and could be renewed for another 28. Universal was responsible for renewing "Trolley Troubles" by 1956 but failed to do so. They also did not renew the copyright for several other Oswald shorts from 1927.

Universal renewed the copyrights for Oswald shorts created 1928 onward. However, the copyright of a character contemporaneous to the 1909 Copyright Act rests in the copyright status of the product in which he first publicly appears. The basic character of Oswald -- his appearance, behavior, and stories as they appeared in the 1927 shorts -- fell into public domain on January 1, 1956.

In 2005 Disney wanted to acquire Oswald from Universal. Universal's lawyers explained the situation. Although Disney could acquire those shorts which had been renewed in the '50s, the character of Oswald now belonged to the world. This was a dilemma for Disney. They wanted to have the predecessor to Mickey Mouse, but they didn't want to acquire him quietly nor in a way that would make competitors realize that Oswald was a public domain character. Their solution was to make a circus out of it by trading a human being (sending a sportscaster from ABC to NBC) in exchange for what they called "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit" but was in fact just some shorts which he appeared in. The media splash cemented Oswald as a Disney character in the public mind -- but he was still a public domain character and has been for a long time.

[Sumac]

That is interesting story. Thanks.