In less than 8 years both Supes & Bats will be public domain 1 1

[catman76]

No corporation should own any character, especially long after the people that had anything to do with it's creation are long dead. It's total bs that people that had nothing to do with the creation of it in any way should be the only people to own it and make money off it. that includes any relatives. if anyone thinks the disney company should still own mickey mouse or dc should still own batman or superman you are totally insane.

also hepcats arguements make no sense. do you know how many batman and superman bootleg comics and things there are? tons. some of the best batman and superman comics I ever have read are bootlegs. I just cant believe there are actually people defending these corporations

[sfcityduck]

On 4/27/2024 at 8:31 PM, catman76 said:

 

also hepcats arguements make no sense. do you know how many batman and superman bootleg comics and things there are? tons. some of the best batman and superman comics I ever have read are bootlegs. 

Now you have me curious - examples I should check out? I can only think of one Superman bootleg.

[Yorick]

On 4/28/2024 at 5:13 AM, sfcityduck said:

Now you have me curious - examples I should check out? I can only think of one Superman bootleg.

I'm a fan of Kurtzman/ Wood's Superduperman.  Was that printed in MAD?*

*looks it up and in two seconds sees it was Mad #4, ah the beauty of the internet

[sfcityduck]

On 4/28/2024 at 12:40 PM, Yorick said:

I'm a fan of Kurtzman/ Wood's Superduperman.  Was that printed in MAD?*

*looks it up and in two seconds sees it was Mad #4, ah the beauty of the internet

Yeah, but that's parody - a fair use. The only unauthorized straight up use of Superman that I'm aware of is Supergear. I'm sure that there might have been a Tijuana Bible or Underground porn type use, but I don't think that's what we're talking about here.

[Yorick]

On 4/28/2024 at 3:36 PM, sfcityduck said:

Yeah, but that's parody - a fair use. The only unauthorized straight up use of Superman that I'm aware of is Supergear. I'm sure that there might have been a Tijuana Bible or Underground porn type use, but I don't think that's what we're talking about here.

Wonder Man, apparently. 

[AJD]

On 4/27/2024 at 12:37 PM, Hepcat said:

I don't believe any of those are still in regular publication. Therefore they'd fit my definition of "abandoned properties".

Ahem

[Hepcat]

On 4/27/2024 at 11:31 PM, catman76 said:

if anyone thinks the disney company should still own mickey mouse or dc should still own batman or superman you are totally insane.

also hepcats arguements make no sense. 

I had nothing more to say in this thread since I'd already spoken my piece, but your inflammatory words beg for a response.

"Insane"? Let me give you my solemn assurance that I'm very sane. But given your efforts to drag what to this point has been a polite intellectual discussion into the mud, it's your rationality or prudence that I'd now call into question.

Consider:

On 4/27/2024 at 11:31 PM, catman76 said:

do you know how many batman and superman bootleg comics and things there are? tons. some of the best batman and superman comics I ever have read are bootlegs.

Those stories are outside existing continuity and are therefore not canon. What they are is simply theft and thus trash. They're precisely why I don't believe it would be a good thing for DC to lose copyright protection for Superman and Batman. More stories of that kind wouldn't please me.

On 4/27/2024 at 11:31 PM, catman76 said:

No corporation should own any character....

Since corporations are capable of owning any other property, there's no reason under law why they should be prohibited from owning copyrights.

On 4/27/2024 at 11:31 PM, catman76 said:

It's total bs that people that had nothing to do with the creation of it in any way should be the only people to own it and make money off it. that includes any relatives....

Once again since copyrights are property like any other, your argument when extended also challenges a person's right to bequeath his property to any other person or entity. Without this right, any rational person would do his best to deplete his assets as wastefully as possible prior to his demise. This would be a disaster for the economy.

On 4/27/2024 at 11:31 PM, catman76 said:

I just cant believe there are actually people defending these corporations

Why not defend corporations? One of the main reasons behind our prosperity here in the West is that we live under the Rule of Law, i.e. the same laws apply to all including the law makers themselves (as opposed to the Rule of Man). Corporations must therefore abide by the same laws as the rest of us and are therefore also entitled to the same protection under law.

But why this wild-eyed anti-corporate diatribe on your part? Is this merely some ill considered personal prejudice on your part? Or are you just another amateur writer/artist who wants to try his hand at Superman and Batman?

P.S.: You might try to avoid inflammatory remarks in future.

Edited April 30 by Hepcat

[Yorick]

On 4/29/2024 at 9:20 AM, Hepcat said:

Those stories are outside existing continuity and are therefore not canon

Is that a large part of why you argue in favor of unlimited copyright protection?  And if it is, I would say that DC already shot the canon for Superman and Batman MANY years ago ("shot the canon"  ).

[Hepcat]

Yes, that's a large part of it. And I agree that DC shot the canon for Superman, Batman and their other heroes decades ago. So yes, the damage has already been done.

But!!! Do you believe allowing other publishers would miraculous restore Superman and Batman's previous continuity? Don't you think that the free-for-all that would result would make things exponentially worse? Continuity? That concept would be just a joke to non-DC writers as opposed to the minor inconvenience it's been for DC writers.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm an old curmudgeon, i.e. Silver Age DC fan.

[sfcityduck]

On 4/30/2024 at 2:28 PM, Hepcat said:

Yes, that's a large part of it. And I agree that DC shot the canon for Superman, Batman and their other heroes decades ago.

Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm an old curmudgeon, i.e. Silver Age DC fan.

 

Which means you came on board after DC shredded the canon and left it on floor with the reboots of the 1950s and 1960s, and loved it.

[Yorick]

On 4/30/2024 at 2:28 PM, Hepcat said:

Do you believe allowing other publishers would miraculous restore Superman and Batman's previous continuity? Don't you think that the free-for-all that would result would make things exponentially worse?

No, but it may draw more attention to the characters.  Continuity will continue in it's current iteration from the books still being sold by DC.  Plus, indy publishers would have to begin their own continuity because they'd only have free-copyright to the first appearance books.  All the stuff that developed along the way would still be under DC's protection (Luthor is what, ten years out?  A Superman story wouldn't even be able to use him initially).  It'll be the other weird stuff that I never thought of for these characters that intrigues me.  It will be BOTH good and bad.  I wish they were public domain right now.  The current world stage is similar to that which spawned these guys.

[mrmovies]

On 4/21/2024 at 11:04 AM, jimbo_7071 said:

They should have entered the public domain a long time ago. The 1998 Copyright Protection Act was yet another example of Congress placing corporate interests above public interest.

That's.... a take

[Hepcat]

On 4/30/2024 at 8:02 PM, sfcityduck said:

Which means you came on board after DC shredded the canon and left it on floor with the reboots of the 1950s and 1960s, and loved it.

Well there certainly is a noticeable correlation between Silver Age Superman and Batman fans/collectors and those who are opposed to anyone but DC publishing those characters.

Edited May 4 by Hepcat

[Pantodude]

On 4/21/2024 at 1:45 PM, Chicago Boy said:

Thx. I thought it was 93 

Shouldn't the title be changed since now you know the "less than 8 years" part is wrong?  It's just out there...being wrong...still....