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Captain Copyright Expires
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.
So, Captain copyright is dead.
Is it 85 years after death that his copyright expires and we can create our own free version of him?
Only 84 years 11 months and 3 weeks to go...
liqbase
Who will now protect us from the evil Dr. Copyleft?!
...Tenille Copyright, is said to be inconsolable. And they thought love would keep them together. The fools.
"Oh boy! Are we going to try something dangerous?"
Despite the significant progress we made on addressing the concerns raised about the original Captain Copyright initiative, as well as the positive feedback and requests for literally hundreds of lesson kits from teachers and librarians, we have come to the conclusion that the current climate around copyright issues will not allow a project like this one to be successful. It is difficult for organizations to reach agreement on copyright issues at this time and we know that, in the face of continuing opposition, the materials will not be used in the classroom. Under these circumstances there is no point in our continuing to work on this project.
We began this project because teachers told us that copyright had become too much a part of their students' daily lives for it not to be taught in the classroom, and they told us they needed a teaching tool to help them do it. We still believe that creating such a tool is important, but we also now believe that no single organization can take the lead on such an initiative. We truly hope that there will come a time when the copyright community - including educators, librarians and copyright collectives - can work together to provide a unbiased teaching tool that provides teachers and students with a balanced view of copyright.
Part of the hardcore faithful who believed in Apple long before it was cool again to do so
Mild-mannered Mark Trade was your average corporate shill from Krypton born with a mutant x-factor until one day he was bit by a radioactive spider that had touched some mutagen ooze which had been exposed to gamma rays while in outerspace.
His superpowers are irony, the ability to set off kids' bullshit detectors without even having to say anything, and the ability to incapacitate pirates by forcing them to laugh uncontrollably.