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Elon Musk appeared to voice his help for a Republican Senator’s efforts to strip Walt Disney of its copyright to its iconic Mickey Mouse mascot.
Musk took to Twitter on Thursday and tweeted in response to a information story about laws proposed by US Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) that might restrict Disney’s copyright safety over Mickey Mouse to 56 years.
“Present copyright regulation normally goes absurdly far past defending the unique creator,” Musk tweeted on Thursday.
Musk then commented that an “overzealous” DMCA — the Digital Millennium Copyright Act — “is a plague on humanity.”
It wasn’t instantly clear why Musk selected to weigh in on the dispute.
The DMCA is a regulation handed by the US authorities in 1998. It affords creators of authentic content material on the web appreciable safety from having their work distributed with out consent.
Critics of the DMCA say that it stifles the free circulation of knowledge on the web by permitting mental property homeowners to order the removing of content material even in situations the place there aren’t any copyright violations.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk appeared to again efforts by a high Republican senator to strip The Walt Disney Co. of its copyright to Mickey Mouse.WireImage
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) proposed a invoice that might retroactively take away Disney’s copyright protections over Mickey Mouse.ZUMAPRESS.com
Hawley’s proposed laws, the Copyright Clause Restoration Act, would retroactively apply to Disney’s copyright to the unique design of Mickey Mouse, who was first launched practically a century in the past within the 1928 launch of the 8-minute-long animated movie “Steamboat Willie.”
On the time “Steamboat Willie” was launched, Disney’s copyright for Mickey Mouse was protected for 56 years.
When the copyright was about to run out in 1984, Disney lobbied the federal authorities to cross the Copyright Act of 1976, which prolonged protections for 75 years.
If handed into regulation, Disney would retroactively lose copyright to the Mickey Mouse character first launched within the 1928 animated movie “Steamboat Willie.”
In 1998, Disney once more lobbied for an extension on its copyright, and the federal authorities obliged, granting it copyright possession for 95 years.
The most recent copyright reform is because of expire in 2024, and high GOP officers have said they won’t help one other extension of copyright protections.
Even when the Mickey Mouse from “Steamboat Willie” enters the general public area, Disney nonetheless holds the copyright for different variations of the character, together with sorcerer Mickey from the movie “Fantasia.”
Disney offended Republicans by opposing a Florida regulation that banned the educating of sexual orientation and gender identification schooling earlier than the fourth grade.REUTERS
“The age of Republican handouts to Massive Enterprise is over,” Hawley stated in a press release. “Due to particular copyright protections from Congress, woke companies like Disney have earned billions whereas more and more pandering to woke activists.”
“It is time to remove Disney’s particular privileges and open up a brand new period of creativity and innovation.”
Hawley’s proposal comes simply weeks after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into regulation a measure that may strip Disney of its autonomous, self-governing standing over its theme parks and resorts in and round Orlando.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis final month moved to strip Disney of its self-governing standing in Orlando.Walt Disney Resorts through Getty Im
DeSantis signed the laws after Disney got here out in opposition to the Parental Rights in Schooling Legislation, which critics have dubbed the “Do not Say Homosexual” invoice. The regulation bars gender identification or sexual orientation schooling for kids earlier than they attain fourth grade.
Musk introduced on Friday that his $44 billion takeover of Twitter was on maintain pending clarifications concerning the presence of bots on the location.
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