A few notes on “Copyright Restoration Act” bill and Disney

At the bottom of this entry is a link to more detailed analysis of the Copyright Restoration Act bill introduced by Senator Hawley in mid-May 2022, but for this entry, I will offer just a few observations. The bill seeks to curtail copyright duration and recast it in the former model of life of the author plus 28 years with an optional 28-year renewal. An explanation accompanying the bill uses the word “woke” twice in one sentence, and seems premised on the idea that the current copyright duration model was simply a Republican handout to Disney.

It could be interesting if someone were to research whether the prior legislative activity leading to the current copyright duration model can rightly be characterized as purely a Republican effort, or merely a handout, but the legislation was processed and deliberated over. The quotations accompanying the introduction of the bill seem to make clear that the bill is not about good, needed legislation, but rather some form of political posturing, which may not be the best foundation for legislative activity or intellectual property recognition. While the former model of 28 years with a potential renewal window has generated a lot of legal work for some due to its complexity and susceptibility to being manipulated, it could also be a good point to research whether the 28 plus 28 renewal is an efficient, clear and fair model to utilize. There are good reasons the copyright model moved on from the former structure.

What happens in the copyright realm often makes it way to the Right of Publicity realm. It seems the bill is not likely to pass, but it could be an entry worth marking for posterity.

For more information on the bill, see:
Don’t Say Copyright: lexology link to Frankfurt Kurnit Klien & Selz analysis article

Disney seeks to trademark SEAL Team 6, the elite special forces unit that tracked down Osama bin Laden

Just two days after President Obama announced that Osama bin Laden had been tracked down and killed in Pakistan, Disney applied for the trademark “SEAL Team 6” with the United States Trademark Office.  See http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4001:frbhm5.2.3   Disney isn’t the only one with a pending trademark on SEAL Team 6 though.  See  http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4001:frbhm5.2.1 and http://tess2.uspto.gov/bin/showfield?f=doc&state=4001:frbhm5.2.2 which also are trademark applications by third parties for SEAL Team 6.

Disney is reportedly developing a production based on the story of the elite special forces team that tracked down and killed Osama bin Laden, so no doubt this was their objective in seeking to trademark this name.  The article at the following link makes a good point that GI Joe was once a military reference before it became trademarked and turned into a TV and toy brand:  http://eonline.mobi/answer_bitch_detail.ftl?id=b242656&last_page=4&paginate=0.  Another article, from the Christian Science Monitor, reports that a behind-the-scenes resolution between Disney and the Navy may be a likely outcome of this trademark application.  See http://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/0519/Who-owns-SEAL-Team-6

All of this raises an intriguing question:  are there any right of publicity interests in the individual members of that SEAL Team 6?  Interesting in part because those persons will likely remain unidentified for a host of reasons.  What about the notion that certain aspects of the military are either the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal government (like the Presidential seal), or essentially public domain (like the State of the Union address or judicial opinions)? 

It will be interesting to see how the Examining Attorney assigned to Disney’s application handles this file.