The giant stuffed bear, its face a twisted smile, lumbers across the screen. Menacing music swells. Shadows mask unknown threats. Christopher Robin begs for his life. And is that a sledgehammer about to pulverize a minor character91裸聊视频檚 head?

Thus unfolds the for the 2023 movie 91裸聊视频淲innie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,91裸聊视频� a slasher-film riff on A.A. Milne91裸聊视频檚 beloved characters, brought to you by 91裸聊视频� the expiration of copyright and the arrival of the classic children91裸聊视频檚 novel into the American public domain.

We were already living in an era teeming with remixes and repurposing, fan fictions and mashups. Then began a parade of characters and stories, led by and with many more to follow, marching into the public domain, where anyone can do anything with anything and shape it into a new generation of stories and ideas.

After a two-decade drought brought on by congressional extensions of the copyright period in 1998, works again began entering the public domain 91裸聊视频� becoming available for use without licensing or payment 91裸聊视频� in 2019. The public began to notice in 2022, when was freed for use as the 95-year copyright period elapsed on the novel that introduced him.

That made possible 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� not to mention a sequel that dropped last month, a forthcoming third and plans for a 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频� of twisted public domain characters including Bambi and Pinocchio. Pooh going public was followed this year by a moment many thought would never come: the copyright expiration on the original version of Mickey Mouse, as he appeared in the 1928 Walt Disney short, 91裸聊视频淪teamboat Willie.91裸聊视频�

The mouse and the bear are but the beginning. The heights of 20th century pop culture 91裸聊视频� Superman among them 91裸聊视频� lie ahead.

Classic characters, new stories, fresh mashups. Will it be all be a bonanza for makers? Are we entering a heyday of cross-generational collaboration or a plummet in intellectual property values as audiences get sick of seeing variations of the same old stories?

Does a murderous Pooh bear have something to show the 21st century entertainment world?

COULD THIS MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE?

Films from Hollywood91裸聊视频檚 early talkie era have started to become public. King Kong, who has one of his enormous feet in the public domain already because of complications between companies that own a piece of him, will shed his remaining chains in 2029. Then, in the 2030s, Superman will soar into the public domain, followed in quick succession by Batman, the Joker and Wonder Woman.

The possibility of new stories is vast. So is the possibility of repetition. Classic stories and characters could get, well a bit tiresome.

91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 feel like it91裸聊视频檚 going to make that big a difference,91裸聊视频� says Phil Johnston, an Oscar nominee who co-wrote Disney91裸聊视频檚 2011 91裸聊视频淲reck It-Ralph91裸聊视频� and co-wrote and co-directed its sequel, 201891裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淩alph Breaks the Internet.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淟ike, 91裸聊视频榃innie the Pooh Blood and Honey91裸聊视频� was was a novelty, made a bit of a splash, I guess. But if someone makes 91裸聊视频楽teamboat Willie91裸聊视频� (into) a jet ski movie or something, who cares?91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淚f there91裸聊视频檚 some great new idea behind it, maybe. But there91裸聊视频檚 nothing I91裸聊视频檓 looking at where I91裸聊视频檓 thinking, 91裸聊视频極h, my God, now that 91裸聊视频橳he Jazz Singer91裸聊视频� is available, I91裸聊视频檓 going to redo that.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�

Many creators were clearly anxious to do something with 91裸聊视频淭he Great Gatsby,91裸聊视频� which has been subject to several reinterpretations in very different flavors since it became public in 2021, says Jennifer Jenkins, a professor of law and .

91裸聊视频淲e have our feminist retellings of `The Great Gatsby91裸聊视频�, where from her perspective, Daisy gets to tell the story from her perspective,91裸聊视频� Jenkins says. 91裸聊视频淲e got prequels, we got sequels, we91裸聊视频檝e got musicals, TV shows, we91裸聊视频檝e got because we always do. These are things that you can do with public domain work. These are things that you can do with with Mickey Mouse.91裸聊视频�

But the newly available works and characters are arriving after years of parent corporations demanding that every creation be tied to their intellectual property. And with some big, 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频�-sized exceptions, the returns are growing thinner, and artists themselves are a little sick of it.

91裸聊视频淭he biggest limiting factor right now is that almost everything that anyone wants is has to be from existing IP,91裸聊视频� says Johnston, whose newest project is an animated adaptation of Roald Dahl91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淭he Twits91裸聊视频� for Netflix. 91裸聊视频滱nd that that the notion of an original idea is somehow scary, certainly to a marketing entity, because they just have to work harder to get it into the public91裸聊视频檚 consciousness. That91裸聊视频檚 the bummer.91裸聊视频�

And while Shakespeare, Dickens and Austen have been public-domain gold mines at various times, other properties have proven more problematic. The forthcoming 91裸聊视频� ,91裸聊视频� starring and Cynthia Erivo, will be yet another attempt at using the public-domain work of author Frank Baum91裸聊视频檚 Oz 91裸聊视频� filtered through a hit novel and Broadway show 91裸聊视频� to glom onto the classic status of the 1939 91裸聊视频淲izard of Oz91裸聊视频� film. Previous tries led to little success, and most were outright flops, most recently 201391裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淥z the Great and Powerful,91裸聊视频� from Disney.

(In an odd quirk of the 91裸聊视频淲izard of Oz91裸聊视频� rights, the film91裸聊视频檚 most famous artifact, Dorothy91裸聊视频檚 , are still the intellectual property of MGM via the 1939 film. In Baum91裸聊视频檚 book, the shoes were silver.)

IN THE BEGINNING, DISNEY LED THE WAY WITH PUBLIC DOMAIN SUCCESS

Some of the most effective use ever of public domain properties came from Disney itself in its early decades, turning time-tested folktales and novels into modern classics with 91裸聊视频淪now White,91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频淧inocchio91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淐inderella.91裸聊视频� It would later become the primary protector of the most valuable rights in entertainment, from the Marvel universe to the Star Wars galaxy to its homegrown content.

That has meant a major flowering through the years of fan art and fan fiction, with which the company has a mixed relationship.

91裸聊视频淲hen you look at how the Disney organization actually engages with fan art, there91裸聊视频檚 a lot of looking the other way,91裸聊视频� says , an author and activist who advocates for broader public ownership of works. 91裸聊视频淚 always thought that there was so much opportunity for collaboration that was being missed there.91裸聊视频�

He gives as an example binders full of fan-fiction biographies of the ghosts at Disney World91裸聊视频檚 Haunted Mansion, maintained by the teens who work there, which he observed when working on a project with the company91裸聊视频檚 so-called Imagineers.

91裸聊视频淪ome of it actually is now part of the lore,91裸聊视频� Doctorow says. 91裸聊视频淚 think that creatively that is an organization that really embraces that. I think commercially it91裸聊视频檚 an organization that has really struggled with it.91裸聊视频�

When the law extending copyright by 20 years passed in 1998, musicians including Bob Dylan were among the key figures who had implored Congress to act. Younger generations of musicians, who came up awash in sampling and remixing, made no discernible outcry for another extension. In part this could be because in the streaming era, many of them make little off recorded music.

Jimmy Tamborello, who records and performs electronic music under the name Dntel and as part of The Postal Service 91裸聊视频� a group whose very name caused trademark headaches with the official version at its inception 91裸聊视频� says artists are generally happy to allow others to turn their work into new things. The problem is companies that come between them, and get most of the financial benefit.

91裸聊视频淭here91裸聊视频檚 always a corporation involved,91裸聊视频� Tamborello says. 91裸聊视频淚 think no one would care if it was just artists to artists. I feel like it would be nice if it was more open, more free. It seems like it has more to do with respecting the original work.91裸聊视频�

He says it was 91裸聊视频渞eally exciting91裸聊视频� when the rapper used his hook from The Postal Service91裸聊视频檚 best known song, 91裸聊视频淪uch Great Heights91裸聊视频� on a track released on YouTube and Soundcloud even before he made the proper legal arrangements to use it on an album.

Johnston says age and experience have made him feel less possessive about his own work.

91裸聊视频淓arlier in my career, everything was an affront. Everything made me angry and like, 91裸聊视频楾hat was that was my idea! I should have had credit for that!91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� he says. 91裸聊视频淚 don91裸聊视频檛 want to say I91裸聊视频檓 just easy and breezy about it, but I think there are so few truly original ideas. 91裸聊视频�. We all kind of will have similar thoughts at a certain point. So it doesn91裸聊视频檛 particularly bother me.91裸聊视频�

His attitude changes if the re-maker is not an artist but . That was a key issue in last year91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频� and is yet another facet of remix culture that, alongside copyright expirations, could change the faces of some of history91裸聊视频檚 most renowned characters in ways no one has ever considered.

91裸聊视频淚f a writer feels for me, it91裸聊视频檚 fine,91裸聊视频� Johnston says. 91裸聊视频淚f an AI steals from me, that sucks.91裸聊视频�

READ ALSO:

READ ALSO: