IU: Copyrights, Comic Books, & Cartoons

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COPYRIGHTS, COMIC BOOKS, AND CARTOONS

(an essay by J. W. Edwards)

(This essay was written for Dr. Robert Langenfeld's Contemporary Publishing class at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro on 5 November 1998. You are welcome to cite it in your own work AS LONG AS I AM GIVEN PROPER CREDIT FOR MY WORK.)

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As a young boy, I used to create my own comic books; this was not an uncommon activity for youngsters. I had several original characters that appeared in my homemade comics, something I was rather proud of because my cousin’s comics most often used real comic characters: Batman, Spiderman, The Incredible Hulk, and etceteras. I occasionally included a real comic character, along with mythological and literary characters: Tarzan, Hercules, and so forth. We just thought it was fun to make our own comics, and it tended to keep us occupied and out of trouble. Little did we realize that we were, in fact, guilty of a crime in using those characters from legitimate comic books.

The Berne Convention of 1971 established that the term of copyright protection "shall be the life of the author and fifty years after his death" (Berne Convention). This limit was extended later to the life of the author and seventy years after death. The United states Congress recently extended the United States copyright of authors to seventy years in compliance to European copyright practices (Reid 14). This expansion kept such popular creations from entering public domain, although libraries are allowed use of items that were slated for public doMain without acquiring permission from the copyright holder (Reid 14). This new copyright extension has saved some characters and works of fiction from entering public domain for the present, but what happens when the new time limit has expired for Mickey Mouse? And what about all the "fan fiction" currently being published without the permission of the copyright holders?

Let us examine the question of what happens when the new copyright limits have expired. As the copyright law now stands, after seventy years from the author’s death, the heirs or corporation may apply to have the time expanded ,but most likely, the item will enter public domain. This is unfortunate business for the heirs or corporation: now anybody can use the original creation in whatever form they choose, even if it detracts from the original work. A prime example is the character of Sherlock Holmes. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective is in the public domain. Several years ago (sometime in the 1980’s), an author wrote a controversial novel in which Holmes and his assistant Watson are homosexuals. Since the characters were now public domain, there was nothing that could be done about the outrageous novel. What fate awaits Mickey Mouse or Batman when they enter public domain? One possible solution to his dilemma (although it would most likely be a controversy itself) would be to modify the copyright law to grant protected copyrights to the author’s descendants and corporations who own the copyrights for the existence of the family or company’s existence: as long as Walt Disney Productions exist, Mickey Mouse is protected by copyright law; as long as there is a descendant of Hemmingway, his works are protected by copyright. One problem with this suggestion is that if works of fiction never enter public domain, the copyright holders are essentially guaranteed monopolies; without competition between publishers to produce their own editions, the monopolies are free to charge whatever price they want. As stated earlier, this would prove to be a most controversial solution indeed.

Now to address the issue of "fan fiction." Popular creations, such as Star Trek, Star Wars, and Xena, Warrior Princess, tend to be incorporated into unauthorized fiction published by "fanzines." Because this happens frequently without lawsuits resulting, many people feel that the copyright law does not apply; the truth is, these "fan fiction" stories are in violation of the copyright law. Furthermore, the story is not the property of the author; it is the legal property of the copyright holder of the original creation:

- Copyright law is quite explicit that he making of what are called "derivative works"— works based on derived from another copyrighted work—is the exclusive province of the owner of the original work. This is true even though the making of the new works is a highly creative process. If you write stories using settings or characters from somebody else’s work, you need that author’s permission. . . . . If you want to write a story Jim Kirk and Mr. Spock, you need Paramount’s permission, plain and simple (Templeton).
Most "fan fiction" is not persecuted because it is seen as free publicity for their copyrighted material, "but make no mistake . . . it is entirely up to [the copyright holders] whether [to persecute or not]" (Templeton). Chances are DC Comics would not have taken my use of Batman in my amateur comics to court because I was in no way damaging their ability to make a profit, but they could have if they had found out. Besides, in my candid opinion, a real author need not depend upon the creations of others in order to write a good story; create your own characters and settings.
Just as copyright laws are present to protect fiction of a more literary sort, the laws also apply to comic books and cartoons. There is money to be made in these areas, so it is important to remember that any "fan fiction" or pirating of any copyrighted material is illegal, regardless of format.

WORKS CITED

"Berne Convention, As Revised—Article 7." Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works (Paris Text, 1971). Available at http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/7.html. (Visited on 26 October 1998).

Reid, Calvin. "Congress Extends Copyright 20 Years". Publishers Weekly,
October 19, 1998. (14).

Templeton, Brad. "!0 Big Myths about copyright explained’. Available at
http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html. (Visited 26 October 1998).

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