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Rich and Rich Blingz's

"Just Chillin" T-shirt, shorts, and sandal collection

$46.00 USD
$46.00 USD
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Interesting legal facts



A trademark on the name (but not legitimately the likeness) of Betty Boop is owned by Fleischer Studios, for which the character was created in the 1930s, but which was unable to claim copyright infringement in a 2008 district court case; the merchandising rights to Betty's name were licensed to King Features Syndicate.


Can I use Betty Boop? It was later found out that the Betty Boop character is a Fleischer trademark but it can't be used to stop people from redistributing old PD Betty images and or items of the character. The Fleischer family tried to say trademark trumped copyright but the Judge said that it doesn't.


Are Betty Boop cartoons public domain?

The Betty Boop character is a Fleischer trademark. But–Betty Boop 1930s movie posters were not copyrighted (or not renewed?) as standalone items, so are public domain. Fleischer tried to use its active trademark on the character to stop a third party's use of the ancient PD art.

What I take from the judge’s ruling is that the trademark only applies to new, modern uses of the character. It can’t be used to stop people from redistributing old PD Betty images/items. Fleischer tried to say trademark trumped copyright; the judge is saying that it doesn’t.

This is actually pretty major. In recent years, Warner has used the active trademarks on Looney Tunes characters to quash third parties’ reissues of PD 1930s/40s Looney Tunes content (of which there is a lot). If the Betty decision is not reversed on appeal, then Warner is stripped of its strongest weapon against the public domain.


It can use the trademark against those who would create new Bugs Bunny items, but not against those who would exploit old PD material that Warner failed to protect.

 


Every short from 1927 has entered the public domain as of 2023.
  • South Pole Flight (1928)
  • Bull-Oney (1928)
  • Africa (1930)
  • The Bandmaster (1931)
  • Mechanical Man (1932)
  • Making Good (1932)
  • The Plumber (1933)
  • The Quail Hunt (1935)

The following is a list of animated films in the public domain in the United States for which there is a source to verify its status as public domain under the terms of U.S. copyright law. For more information, see List of films in the public domain in the United States. Films published before 1928 are not included because all such films are in the public domain (Note: while the film in and of itself may be in the public domain, the original versions may incorporate elements that remain under a separate copyright).

Some shorts listed here were produced for the United States government such as the Private Snafu series. Because they were produced for the U.S. government, they automatically fall into the public domain.

 

"Just Chillin" t-shirt and short set are made of cotton.

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