Copyright statuses of theatrical shorts.

[Pooky]

It's historic, but I think some of the headlines in recent weeks have probably oversold this to the general public. There might be some interesting law suits coming in the next few years.

For some reason a handful of later Disney shorts have been in the public domain for decades, most notably The Mad Doctor. There were a small number of Public Domain VHS tapes, back in the heyday of such things.

 

[Moe]

Just edited a post that linked to an unofficial upload of Plane Crazy. I won't issue any infractions this time because I'm sure it was an honest mistake, but the sound version doesn't enter the public domain for another year. Only the silent version is in the public domain, and that's considered lost. If a copy (and I mean an actual copy, not the sound version with the audio edited out) turns up and is posted online, by all means, go ahead and post it! But otherwise it's still off limits until next year.

There is still a second Mickey Mouse short that entered the public domain today, The Gallopin' Gaucho:

Wikipedia shared it with audio muted today.

 

[Low Spark of Lyman]

Wikipedia shared it with audio muted today.

It also states this: "It is unknown to what extent changes were made between the original silent version and the sound version."

 

[John Pannozzi]

I dunno if the Gallopin' Gaucho is PD or not...

from Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: a 95-year Love Triangle | Duke University School of Law

Mickey’s first appearances were actually in earlier cartoons from 1928, Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho. Both were silent films and neither attracted a distributor. It was Steamboat Willie – which had synchronized sound – that put Mickey on the map. The data in the Catalog of Copyright Entries indicates that the silent version of Plane Crazy is also entering the public domain 2024. The sound version of this film is public domain in 2025. We could not find a 1928 registration or timely renewal for The Gallopin’ Gaucho, but the copyright notice on the sound version says 1929, putting it in the public domain in 2025.

Hmmm....

 

[PinkieLopBun]

I dunno if the Gallopin' Gaucho is PD or not...

from Mickey, Disney, and the Public Domain: a 95-year Love Triangle | Duke University School of Law



Hmmm....

Good catch. If someone else posts it, I don’t think I’ll do anything unless Disney complains to us, but I decided to play it safe and remove it from my post.

 

[Daikun]

A YouTuber named Content Free Time gives us a peek into other shorts and characters that will be entering the public domain in the future.

 

[John Pannozzi]

A YouTuber named Content Free Time gives us a peek into other shorts and characters that will be entering the public domain in the future.

He got a few details wrong. For instance, Porky Pig debuted in 1935, not 1937. Also, The Simpsons are a bit older than he implies, if we count the shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show which started in 1987. Also, Dragon Ball started in 1984, not 1985.

 

[Moe]

It took 9 days for Disney to accept my dispute and restored the video that is already in public domain.

 

[Daikun]

A YouTuber named Content Free Time gives us a peek into other shorts and characters that will be entering the public domain in the future.

He made an update video.

 

[Classic Speedy]

RiffTrax has now riffed on Steamboat Willie and The Man (TM) can't do anything about it!

 

[Edward Joseph]

For some reason a handful of later Disney shorts have been in the public domain for decades, most notably The Mad Doctor. There were a small number of Public Domain VHS tapes, back in the heyday of such things.

Yeah, I remember a lot of those VHS's. The most noteworthy ones I can recall were released by a company named Amvest Video which had a 3-pack set that not only The Mad Doctor (sourced from a really jittery 16mm print) but also some Alice Comedies, WW2 propaganda shorts (such as The Thrifty Pig), Oswald's, Laugh-O-Grams and more. All of which were bookened by the Happy Hamster (yeesh). There was another release from them that featured the trailer for The Three Caballeros that apparently (if I remember correctly) got a cease and desist from Disney.

Going away from Disney for a bit, does anyone know if the redrawns in the PD or not? I've heard somewhere that most of the studios that ordered them wound up registering most of them under a different copyright and ended up renewing them which, therefore, caused them to keep the cartoon's copyright (even some of the cartoons that were renewed were cartoons that, while being redrawns, were also based off of cartoons that had already fallen into the PD).

 

[Low Spark of Lyman]

I've recently learned that the redrawn versions of B&W Looney Tunes had their copyrights renewed in 1994.

i.e. all of them, including those whose original versions are in the public domain: The Colorized Cartoon Database | Looney Tunes

 

[Low Spark of Lyman]

Since it's less than a week from January 1, 2025- Public Domain Day for 1929- might as well mention that this will include many more Mickey Mouse entries (including the sound versions of Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho), as well as the first five Silly Symphonies (from The Skeleton Dance to The Merry Dwarfs).

 

[Daikun]

Since it's less than a week from January 1, 2025- Public Domain Day for 1929- might as well mention that this will include many more Mickey Mouse entries (including the sound versions of Plane Crazy and The Gallopin’ Gaucho), as well as the first five Silly Symphonies (from The Skeleton Dance to The Merry Dwarfs).

I've added them all to the OP and added a new section for Silly Symphonies since this is the year where they're now being inducted.

 

[PinkieLopBun]

Alright, now here's Plane Crazy and The Gallopin' Gaucho:

 

[zakawer2]

Copyrights (even ones for older works) don't have to be renewed and cannot simply expire over here (and the rule of the shorter term likely doesn't apply to U.S. works in Denmark because of a bilateral copyright agreement from 1893 under the International Copyright Act of 1891). Therefore, the only public-domain cartoons on this list that also have such status in my country are the ones considered to be works of the U.S. government (most notably the Private Snafu ones).

 

[Edward Joseph]

I encourage anyone interested in the statuses of copyright when it comes to theatrical cartoons to check out these sites: Internet Archive: Digital Library of Free & Borrowable Texts, Movies, Music & Wayback Machine and https://cocatalog.loc.gov/. This is where all of the information about this sort of stuff is held. I haven't scanned through all of them but scanning through them briefly, here are some observations I've noticed:

- Unless I'm missing something or putting in the wrong words, if I'm reading correctly some Looney Tunes shorts (Wackiki Wabbit, Yankee Doodle Daffy etc.) appear to have been NEVER registered even at their time of creation (as opposed to been registered and then not renewed like Molly Moo Cow). Thus, most of the later copyright registrations are their first.
- Most of the later copyright renewals for some of the cartoons that fell into the Public Domain are for alternate versions of them (ie redrawns, computer colorized versions, restorations etc.). Theoretically according to copyright law, this COULD protect those versions of those cartoons, but not the film elements before that time. A company trying to protect the original, untampered versions of these Public Domain cartoons would thus be disingenuous (though I'm sure there are some legal businesses I don't know about that they COULD pull to do that).

Funnily enough, sometimes companies mistakenly think that a cartoon they own is under copyright when it's really not. According to David Gerstein, some recent copyright documents list Wacky Blackout as being renewed alongside cartoons that WERE renewed, when in reality it was not.

(BTW, the main reason why these cartoons fall into the public domain in the first place is either A. The studio goes under and isn't around when the renewal is supposed to take place or B. Secretaries at a studio forget to send paperwork.)

 

[John Pannozzi]

The first post in this thread should be updated, as the Oswald cartoon "All Wet" is now in the Public Domain, and has been since January 1, 2023.

 

[Low Spark of Lyman]

I don't know if anyone has actually thought this, but I've found it pretty clear that copyright renewal is not contingent on the popularity or relevance of a subject. With WB cartoons, public domain entries include many with Porky and/or Daffy (especially 1941-1943, where all but one of the black-and-white Looney Tunes have fallen into the PD), several with Bugs and/or Elmer Fudd, and the first with Tweety...but zilch with Buddy.

IIRC, it's been said that three WB cartoons- Flop Goes the Weasel, Fin 'n' Catty, and An Itch in Time, all Merrie Melodies from 1943- did not have their copyrights renewed for the original versions, but rather their Blue Ribbon reissues. Not sure how true that is or what exactly it entails.

With regards to companies mistakenly thinking a cartoon they have is under copyright, I've seen a few sources from previous decades assume Colonel Bleep was under copyright...when it's now known* the copyright expired in the 1980s. To be fair, there doesn't seem to have been much research on the show before, and mentions of copyright may have just been a mere formality.

*A 1989 book on copyright renewals listed the show without a renewal notice. It's also worth noting that the production company was surely closed down by then.

 

[Daikun]

The first post in this thread should be updated, as the Oswald cartoon "All Wet" is now in the Public Domain, and has been since January 1, 2023.

Done. Thanks for letting me know.