r/publicdomain • • Jun 25 '24

Discussion (THREAD) How would you use X character if they were public domain?

50 Upvotes

This thread should be used as the hub for this for the time being. Once it fills up enough we can make a second one.


r/publicdomain • • Aug 22 '24

Discussion Public Domain Alternatives

55 Upvotes

Hello everyone!

After a few month trial we have decided to allow general posts requesting Public Domain Alternatives again. We noticed a tick down in people actually getting a response to their requests in the larger master thread, so we wanted to work to have people get the replies they wanted. We do recommend that you attempt to search for similar inquiries to your question before posting again.

As always it is a work in progress to moderate since we are just humans with our own lives and do this for fun in our free time. Thank you for understanding, and please feel free to reach out if you have questions.

Best,

The mods


r/publicdomain • • 8h ago

PD Media Some Arctic Giant (Fleischer Studios) Renders I made

Thumbnail gallery
18 Upvotes

Do whatever you want with them :D


r/publicdomain • • 11h ago

PD Media Public Domain Spookes DAY 26:Frankenstein (1910),but soon the popular one shall join us my telespectators

Thumbnail youtube.com
12 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 7h ago

Discussion terrible unofficial King Kong movie on Tubi

5 Upvotes

The 1932 novel being public domain leads to some good works, but some are just awful.

I hate AI so i don't condone the usage of it. But if you want to still suffer, here is the link: https://tubitv.com/movies/100058369/kong-vs-megacock


r/publicdomain • • 18h ago

Public domain Stim station be like:

Post image
17 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 9h ago

The Raven, but in Minecraft

Thumbnail youtu.be
2 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 10h ago

PD Media Public Domain Spookes DAY 27:Spooks (1931)

Thumbnail youtube.com
2 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 1d ago

Mickey Mouse always empowers me in Steamboat Willie 🚢

Post image
2 Upvotes

​

For Me "Steamboat Willie isn’t just a piece of animation history—it’s the ultimate archetype of psychological resilience."

I reimagined the classic Steamboat Willie into a short film, turning it into a story about how to cheer ourselves up and find inner strength whenever facing setbacks.

The background music features my own piano performance of Mozart's Sonata KV 332, 1st Movement.

This is a true archetype of psychological resilience.

Empower Myself 😉🌟 --- (Features vocal storytelling)

https://youtu.be/FT60E5QU9NQ?si=4BoUzhwhkNvKwjuA


r/publicdomain • • 1d ago

Trademark Vs. Copyright

20 Upvotes

I've been posting and commenting here for a while.

I see the same misunderstandings around copyright vs. trademark again, and again.

While I'm not a lawyer and never recommend getting legal advice on Reddit, for the sake of the folks who come here to understand what "public domain" is and are confused by the concepts, maybe the mods could create a nice, simple explanation of how both concepts work and put a pin in it up top?

Just a suggestion.


r/publicdomain • • 1d ago

PD Media Public Domain Spookes DAY 25:The beast from the haunted cave (1959)

Thumbnail youtube.com
3 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 1d ago

Discussion Do you think Sunny Bono went overboard with making the rule 95 years instead of something like 15, 20 or 30 years? What do you think would have been a better choice instead of what we have now?

28 Upvotes

I feel like a lot of the stuff we are getting are stuff I never heard of. Like Tin Tin, and Barbar the Elephant etc. And I feel the rules are too vague and strict. For example, Tarzan and Zorro are good examples of the rules being vague. So you can use the characters as long as you change the names, and you can’t use this, this and this. If Zorro and Tarzan were used like Bugs Bunny and Mickey then I would understand the trademark on their names. But they are relatively obscure characters who are really known for the Disney animated film and the Banderas films. But that’s just me sadly. lol


r/publicdomain • • 1d ago

Self Promotion The Hallowed Hall issue 1 (just in time for Halloween)

5 Upvotes

I've published a new indie comic called "The Hallowed Hall", which is based on this character 👇

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/All_Hallows_Eve

It's an anthology title that reboots the character for an adult audience (similar to Ultimate or Absolute). All characters in this comic are open source and may be used by anyone, for any purpose, totally free of copyright. You can check it out in the link below 👇

The Hallowed Hall #1 https://a.co/d/0ckGc6Ns

Enjoy! 🎃🎃🎃


r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

I redrew a Mechanical Cow poster

Thumbnail gallery
122 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

Hello, here’s a free Woody Woodpecker cartoon! And don’t worry, this cartoon is public domain!!

Thumbnail youtu.be
15 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 2d ago

I thought this might be of interest here. The War of the Worlds audio drama in binaural audio starring Colin Morgan on YouTube for free listening. Live premiere on Friday 30th October.

Thumbnail youtu.be
5 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

Public Domain News I found something on the Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1931) 2027 vs 2028 question.

Post image
42 Upvotes

Hey all, I posted a while back asking whether the 1931 title card or the January 1932 registration controls for Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (Thank you again for all the replies). I did some digging and found what looks like an actual answer.

The U.S. Copyright Office has a rule for this. For pre-1978 works, if the year in the notice is earlier than the actual publication year, the term runs from the notice year, not the publication year. So no matter what year actual wide distribution happened, the 1932 registration doesn't override the 1931 notice.

You can read it yourself: Compendium II §1303.01, Circular 15A (copyright.gov/circs/circ15a.pdf), and Compendium III §2205.1(C).

In other words, the copyright should expire at the end of this year.


r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

PD Creations Famous Toon Friends presents: Drinks!

Thumbnail gallery
76 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

PD Creations I FINALLY MADE MY OWN PUBLIC DOMAIN SUBWAY SURFERS CLONE!!! 🐰💣🪙🎮

Thumbnail gallery
16 Upvotes

Introducing BAILEY BUNNY ON ACME STREET! An original endless runner game starring my very own cartoon character, Bailey Bunny!!

After eating WAY too many brownies and pizzas, Bailey decides to go jogging around town... only to discover a street where people casually roll BOMBS around like it's a perfectly normal Tuesday. 💀💀💀

Your mission? Dodge the bombs, collect gold coins, and survive for as long as possible!

🎮 HOW TO PLAY:
⬅️➡️ Use the on-screen arrow buttons to move Bailey left and right!
⌨️ Playing on PC? You can also use the LEFT and RIGHT ARROW KEYS on your keyboard to control Bailey!

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!! 📺

I've also added a special button on the title screen that takes you directly to GOOBOX, where you can watch PUBLIC DOMAIN CLASSIC CARTOONS 24/7! That's right, you can go from playing my game to watching classic cartoons in seconds! 👀

And here's the best part...

🌎 I'm making this game FREE TO SHARE AND REDISTRIBUTE, with the goal of releasing my original work into the public domain! I want people to be able to enjoy, preserve, and share my creations without unnecessary barriers.

This is another step in expanding the Eclipia-Bunkle Entertainment universe beyond YouTube videos and into actual interactive entertainment!!

So, what do you think? Would YOU play Bailey Bunny on Acme Street? 🐰

DODGE BOMBS. COLLECT COINS. WATCH CARTOONS. REPEAT. 😂📺

Game Link: https://mike6373.github.io/baileyacmestreet and https://github.com/mike6373/baileyacmestreet


r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

PD Media Public Domain Spookes DAY 24:Cat Women Of The Moon (1953),the love for girls with feline traits is not a new thing my telespectors

Thumbnail youtube.com
7 Upvotes

r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

Bertie Bat (Toytown Comics #1 / Baily Publishing Company)

Post image
18 Upvotes

Bertie Bat is a parody of Batman who acts as Mertie's loyal, heroic sidekick and savior throughout the journey. Whenever Mertie finds himself in life-threatening danger, Bertie flies in to save the day—rescuing him and Tubby Bear from river alligators, knocking out schemers like Christopher Q. Catt, and pulling Mertie from the talons of Vincent Vulture. Despite being arrested, thrown into the Dungeon of Doom, and tortured alongside Mertie, Bertie stays by his side until the end, ultimately being rewarded with the role of Town Treasurer upon their heroic return.

So the reason why I draw him this way because i wanted to draw him in a more realistic human like shape while maintaining his original look and I think it look ok without looking too much like Batman other than the head with the pointy ears

https://pdsh.fandom.com/wiki/Bertie_Bat


r/publicdomain • • 3d ago

Discussion Non-aligning copyright expiration dates between countries

19 Upvotes

Hi guys. I've been thinking about this today.

Two books have come to my attention, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" by Agatha Christie, and "The Maltese Falcon" by Dashiell Hammett. Both of these have entered into the public domain in the US. However, in the UK the law is different. Copyright exists until 70 years after the author's death, meaning both of these are still copyrighted for us living in the UK.

What about for sites like Project Guttenberg? I could go on there right now and download these two books, but it would technically be illegal, as I live in the UK. How do we feel about that?

TBH I'm not sure the copyright owners would actually care, if it's purely for personal use. Or at least not care enough to consult lawyers.

The way I see it, if they were actually that bothered they'd take legal action against Project Guttenberg to stop them from offering such works (which I'm pretty sure is technically possible) to people in countries where copyright still exist, but they haven't.

Thoughts?


r/publicdomain • • 4d ago

With only two months until Frankenstein (1931) enters the public domain, I got reminded that there are people out there that are willing to risk it early, lol

Post image
99 Upvotes

Flat top and green.

I know that this is not unusual but it still a delight when I see it.


r/publicdomain • • 4d ago

Discussion Popeye would literally be perfect for a Mario-esque platformer game

86 Upvotes

Shigeru Miyamoto wanted to make a Popeye game where Popeye leaps over barrels to save Olive Oyl from Bluto, but Nintendo couldn't get the license, so the end result was Donkey Kong, which instead featured the plumber (then carpenter) Mario rescuing Lady Pauline from Donkey Kong. Nintendo would eventually make a Popeye arcade game, but with different gameplay.

Considering Popeye is now public domain, I think there's ample opportunity to bring things full-circle and have Popeye be the hero of a Mario-esque game. Besides, him growing stronger by eating spinach is like Mario growing stronger by eating mushrooms; it's a no-brainer.


r/publicdomain • • 4d ago

PD Media Public Domain Spookes DAY 23:The Golem (1920),but are the two other sequels public domain? let your horror show runner know

Thumbnail youtube.com
16 Upvotes