Copyright Claims
1. Did poster with kids posing as Disney’s characters infringed on Disney’s rights?
Are Disney characters Copyrightable?
The statuary requirements for copyright protection are found in Section 102(a) of the Copyright Act and states that “Copyright protection subsists in original works of authorship….fixed in any tangible medium of expression from which perceived, reproduced. Some of the motion picture characters are entitled to copyright protection if they especially distinctive. In DC Comics v Towle, the court established three-part test to make that determination. To meet this standard the character must have physical as well as conceptual qualities; the character must be especially distinctive and must be sufficiently
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The original “Star Wars” movie was released in 1977, so we can assume that the characters were created a few years earlier. Since the creator, George Lucas, is still around today, Disney will have rights to those character for a long time, and can presume the copyright in those characters is valid.
However, since the characters were created prior 1978, therefore rights may fall under the Copyright Act of 1909, where they would be protected only for 56 years since the registration with the Copyright Office. Nevertheless, Disney’s rights to the characters are valid.
Whether Lewis’ Poster infringed Disney’s rights?
As a general matter, copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, publicly displayed ….without the permission of the copyright owner. To prove that Lewis violated Disney’s right; the court will use the test to determine if the infringement occurred; if the copying was “in fact” using direct or circumstantial evidence, and if there was improper appropriation, where the court will examine the substantial similarity, which is decided by the subjective opinion. (Three Boys Music v.