Disney’s copyright monopoly over the character of Mickey Mouse may be coming to a close in the U.S. — though any free-for-all use of Mickey Mouse in the “public domain” may not be so simple. Copyright law as it pertains to Disney’s characters is a complex set of issues. The copyright status for these characters is subject to various laws and international treaties.
Read MoreThe Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike has once again taken center stage in the entertainment industry, bringing a palpable tension between the writers and the alliance of television and film producers with whom they're negotiating (AMPTP). FN1
Read MoreA recent change in policy from the U.S. Copyright Office could impact the registration of creative works generated by artificial intelligence or “AI”. These creative works may include scripts, books, art, writing, and other copyrightable content. The Copyright Office had previously stated that it would not register works that were created entirely by AI. Recently the Copyright Office revised that position to allow for the registration of works that are "co-created" by both AI and human authors. This means that works where a human has made a "significant contribution" to the creation of the work, such as by providing the input or training data for the AI, can now be registered for copyright protection. The article also notes that this change in policy is in line with the growing trend of collaboration between humans and AI in the creation of creative works.
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