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Captain Copyright Expires

Posted by kdawson on from the don't-let-the-door-hit-you dept.

The Canadian superhero Captain Copyright has finally expired, not due to pirates or to the passage of 50 years after the death of the author, but because "the current climate around copyright issues will not allow a project like this one to be successful." The cartoon was intended to provide an education in copyright law for children, but it became a focus for criticism when even the Canadian Library Association condemned it for lacking balance because it ignored issues like Fair Dealing (Canada's version of Fair Use). Personally, I was hoping we'd see them get sued by DC & Marvel, who claim to own the trademark on the word "superhero", and vanish in a puff of logic.

6 of 114 comments (clear)

  1. mod -1 Pedantic by tverbeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Personally, I was hoping we'd see them get sued by DC & Marvel, who claim to own the trademark on the word "superhero", and vanish in a puff of logic.
    Given the facts that A) copyrights and trademarks rights are different things, and B) the word "superhero" doesn't appear anywhere in the name "Captain Copyright", I don't think there'd be much chance of that.
    --
    http://alternatives.rzero.com/
  2. *Gasp* by HerrEkberg · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Who will now protect us from the evil Dr. Copyleft?!

  3. Re:I wonder... by shawb · · Score: 3, Insightful

    The Cap'n might even agree to it

    --
    I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
  4. Re:Captain Copyright Farewell Message by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    While I'm ordinarily willing to give people the benefit of the doubt, and I must say it is great to see the feedback acknowledged, I'm a little disappointed they did not pursue this worthy goal further. It *is* worthwhile to get educational materials to teachers and students about the nature of copyright, and providing a balanced presentation is really important. The initial version didn't have that, which is an acknowledged problem. It missed the mark by a wide margin. I give full credit for being honest about the existence of the problem. They say they worked on a fix, and I'm sure it is a big challenge to get all the interests to agree on how to do it. It is no small task to make complicated legal issues comprehensible.

    But I can't help wondering if some interests involved in the original version simply didn't want to fund or otherwise support a balanced presentation about copyright.

  5. Re:Captain Copyright Farewell Message by Stormwatch · · Score: 4, Insightful

    They're talking about the very few retards who swallowed their bullshit. Smart people read this instead.

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.
  6. Re:So... by mrchaotica · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Brilliant start for an educational program about rights.

    Well there's your first mistake -- it's not "educational," it's brainwashing.

    --

    "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz