Andrew Masson is an IPilogue Writer and 2L JD candidateĚýat Osgoode Hall Law School.Ěý

I have not explored the comedy-horror genre much, but Director Rhys Waterfield's vision of a has intrigued me from a legal perspective. The IPilogue previously published about when Ryan Reynolds created a fun featuring the iconic original 1926 Winnie the Pooh. Ryan Reynolds's fun-loving commercial was generally well-received by the public, but some claimed that this would “”. Ěý

Purpose of Public Domain

Some may view this as the “darker” side of works entering the public domain, but the public domain is meant to be a wellspring for future creativity. Therefore, although some may find it distasteful, it does fit within the overall purpose of works entering the public domain. The Supreme Court of the United States held in that copyrights are meant to be a “special reward” and that the “products of [creators] genius” would be made public after a “limited period of exclusive control.” The “limited periods” of copyright — now 70 years in Canada and 70 or 95 years in the US — is significant because most copyrighted materials loses its value at that point, and is rather at risk of being lost.

If copyrights were temporarily unlimited, then there may be a risk of material being physically lost because there is no way for it to be legally replicated. ĚýAlthough advancements in digital storage and technology in the last few decades have minimized these concerns, a lot of materials in the 20^th century were analog. This means that if the physical works were lost, damaged, or destroyed, those cultural artifacts would no longer exist. Additionally, has shown that works that entered the public domain compared to copyrighted best sellers of that time were significantly more likely to be in print, with more editions available, and cheaper in costs. Since most copyrighted work is not as popular as Winnie the Pooh, they do require 95-year copyright — the public domain acts as a resource to persevere the work as well as provide inspiration for creative uses of that work.

Is Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Violating Disney’s Copyright?

Although policy reasons justify this film’s release, there is one significant distinction between the Ryan Reynolds interpretation and Director Waterfield’s. Disney owns the copyright to the post-1926, red-shirt wearing Winnie the Pooh, rather than the original shirtless Winnie the Pooh which entered the public domain. The still-shots, however, depict Winnie with a red plaid shirt. Disney has an alternative argument in that the film infringes on their copyrighted version. It is intriguing that the original Mickey Mouse is set to enter the public so Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey could be a litmus test for how Disney will approach these copyright and public domain conflicts .

The post Copyright and Public Domain Issues with Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Photo from , Smithsonian Design Museum, 1926.

Sabrina Macklai is an IPilogue Senior Editor and a 2L JD Candidate at the University of Toronto Faculty of Law.

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Nikita Munjal is an IP Innovation Clinic Fellow, a Student Editor with the Intellectual Property Journal, and a third-year JD/MBA Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

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While many were observing the new year, intellectual property scholars and the artistic community were celebrating . January 1^st marks the expiration of most jurisdictions’ copyright terms. The previously copyrighted works enter the public domain, free to use and copy. In 2022, A. A. Milne’s Winnie the Pooh, among other famous characters like Felix Salten’s Bambi, entered the U.S. public domain. Already, versions of the beloved teddy bear are making rounds on , with celebrity even introducing his own “Winnie-the-Screwed” book in an ad for Mint Mobile.

Though the expansion of the public domain is cause for celebration, the honey-loving bear was already freely available for use in Canada since 2006. Works enter the public domain on a country-by-country basis, depending on the jurisdiction’s laws. Canada currently maintains a shorter copyright term than the U.S, set at . In contrast, generally subsists for 70 years after the death of the author or 95 years after first publication for works-for-hire. In other words, all works of corporate authorship first published in 1926, such as Winnie the Pooh, did not become freely available to use in the U.S until the end of 2021.

Copyright terms were not always this long. The U.S.’ first established a copyright term of 14 years, with an optional 14-year renewal period for living authors. This term was eventually extended to 28 years (with a 28-year renewal option) by a , then even further to 50 years from the author’s death in . Lobbying by the American entertainment industry, especially Walt Disney Co, led to the enactment of the , which not only increased U.S. copyright terms but applied them retroactively. Under the former legislation, Winnie the Pooh was to enter the public domain in 2006, 50 years following A. A. Milne's death, but the Extension Act delayed its entrance by 16 years.

The mismatch between copyright terms amongst jurisdictions poses various problems, especially in our digital age. While the public was free to use and copy Winnie the Pooh’s image in Canada long before January 1, 2022, they had to be careful not to make their works accessible in the U.S. or other jurisdictions such as the where the work was still protected by copyright. Though the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, worldwide, attempted to provide some standardization by mandating a minimum copyright term of 50 years after the author’s death, countries like the U.S. have adopted longer terms and ignore the “rule of shorter term”, which provides that the term of copyright in a work created in a foreign country may not exceed the term received in its origin country.

While U.S. copyright terms remain one of the world’s longest, this will soon change due to the (CUSMA), which came into force on July 1, 2020. , Canada has until the end of this year to extend their term of copyright protection to 70 years after the author’s life, in harmony with the U.S. This requirement has garnered much controversy, as user rights advocates are concerned that it will lead to a 20-year gap of materials entering the public domain, significantly restricting access to works. In response to these concerns, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada released a noting several limitations and accompanying measures that Canada may choose to adopt to mitigate any potential harms of term extensions.

What does this mean for Winnie the Pooh? As it has already entered the public domain, any changes to copyright terms will not retroactively affect the bear’s status. However, it is important to note that the Winnie the Pooh available for use differs from Disney’s version, which is still under copyright and protection. Only the characters and stories from A. A. Milne’s original 1926 works are freely available. As author Tim X Price , “Red shirt on the bear, artists beware. If nude he be, your bear is free.”

Although Disney did not protest Winnie the Pooh’s entrance into the public domain, some intellectual property experts expected the corporation to lobby for extended copyright terms, as it has successfully done in the past. Granted, the rise of the Internet has , as empowered grass-root organizations and the public fight back against such efforts. Nevertheless, if Disney were to revive its lobbying efforts, it would likely be soon as the Steamboat Willie version of its beloved mascot, Mickey Mouse, is set to enter the public domain on January 1, 2024.

The post Oh Dear, Piglet, They Kept My Shirt! appeared first on IPOsgoode.