So I know there's a lot of films that have lapsed into the public domain; characters appear to be far fewer. I revently thought I'd try to find a list of public domain cartoon characters and was shocked that there wasn't one. Then I thought maybe I'd try to compile one, but it turns out it's not as easy as you'd imagine. There are some that I suspect are PD, but it's really hard to find documentation on this stuff. If anyone has some info to get the list rolling, that'd be awesome! Citations rock pretty hard, too. Thanks in advance for any info you have, toonheads!
If you find an answer to your question, would you post it here?
This does not answer your question but the video seires is good ground work for anyone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQOJgEA5e1k&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtMwV2btpcij8...
I dig it! Copyright law is something I find fascinating, and also backwards and insane, particularly in America. Apparently, as many animation nerds as there are out there, the laws are too Byzantine even for them to pick apart. Now, I'm going to suggest some characters here that I suspect are in the public domain, though I don't know for certain. Perhaps someone else can pick it up and run with it from here:
Gertie the Dinosaur
Little Nemo, et al
Van Beuren Tom and Jerry
Farmer Al Falfa
Col. Heeza Liar
Flip the Frog
Maybe I'm wrong on a few of these and I'm sure there's plenty more as well. Any lawyers on the boards?
Thanks for any and all info, ya'll.