Speaker: Professor Eleonora Rosati
Fictional characters, IP, and a fictional public domain
Abstract
It is well-known that truth is stranger than fiction. A perhaps less known fact is that IP can be stranger than fiction too, at least when it comes to fictional characters.
The recent "fall" into the public domain (at least in the US) of the Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse has generated headlines, and so has - just a few months prior - the recognition for the first time by a UK court that fictional characters may be copyright works in their own right.
At the same time, fictional characters and their attributes can be protected through trade mark law too, including well beyond the expiry of the relevant copyright term.
Through several case law examples, the talk reviews how IP rights protect fictional characters and seeks to answer the question whether, in the end, the only fictional thing is the notion of public domain.
Attendance at City events is subject to our terms and conditions.