Felix the Cat?

MarcCCTx

Since the early Felix the Cat cartoons entered public domain (along with a bunch of others) this year, could a 3D asset be made of him? Also how would the rubber hose arms and legs be made?

Fauvist

MarcCCTx said:

Since the early Felix the Cat cartoons entered public domain (along with a bunch of others) this year, could a 3D asset be made of him? Also how would the rubber hose arms and legs be made?

Is FELIX THE CAT trademarked?   

benniewoodell

I don't know about the trademark issue, I always thought if it's public domain it's fair game, but as for rubber arms and legs, not sure it's possible in Daz but if you do it in Blender and rig it with Rigify you can get those noodle arms super easy. 

Stezza

gotta     Felix  

Faeryl Womyn

Dreamworks has bought the rights to Felix The Cat and plan to reanimate him as some point soon, so I would say no you can't. I'm not a lawyer so I suggest you check into this more thoroughly.

https://www.theverge.com/2014/6/18/5821100/dreamworks-acquires-rights-to-felix-the-cat-fashion-line

It's confusing - his very early cartoons are public domain, his first appearance is public domain which means the character is public domain BUT he is still trademark protected by Dreamworks in 2007. You can take the character and make your own based on his earlier works but you can't call him Felix on the cover, you can't use the trademarked name as a selling point basically. You might be able to get away with calling him Phelix lol but when it comes to trademark in the US at least it currently trumps public domain.

pctech4ny

Caution: not a lawyer, but have passing familarity with some aspects of copyright and trademark as a published author. US trademarks are issued for specific uses or types of goods. Having a trademark issued for the purpose of making T-shirts or whatever clothing has no bearing on any other use (say food stuffs or hotels or something). (However most big companies get multiple trademarks or ones with multiple uses declared.) Also, if the trademark is not actively used for over 3 years, or the holder misses some deadlines to file extension paperwork, the trademark might get considered abandoned.

But yes the issue of copyright vs. trademark has a lot of unclear cases. Especially as regards expired copyrights becoming public domain while the trademark may still be valid. Expect lots of court cases in the next few years as things like Mickey Mouse (at least the "Steamboat Willie" era version) become public domain to try to sort out these issues.

I'd agree with above poster that technically you might be allowed to make your own images or animations of Felix AS HE APPEARED IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN CARTOONS. If his appearance or abilities changed later on in cartoons that are still in copyright, that is a no-no to use the newer version of the character. And using the name Felix for any sort of marketing or advertising is a definite legal risk until the legal issues are sorted out by others with big enough pockets to wage legal battles.

Ascania

Fauvist said:

MarcCCTx said:

Since the early Felix the Cat cartoons entered public domain (along with a bunch of others) this year, could a 3D asset be made of him? Also how would the rubber hose arms and legs be made?

Is FELIX THE CAT trademarked?   

You can easily answer this question yourself.

 

 

Faeryl Womyn said:

It's confusing - his very early cartoons are public domain, his first appearance is public domain which means the character is public domain BUT he is still trademark protected by Dreamworks in 2007.

People keep confusing copyright and trademark all the time. They are two separate things. A copyright can enter the public domain after it runs out at the end of a period of time determined by law. A trademark can't. A trademark can lapse if it isn't kept registered or can become genricised if it isn't defended. A copyright can't.