The New Charon: Steamboat Willie

This little mouse has effectively been able to shut down artistic exploration and innovation. The gatekeeper of the public domain and entrenched monarch of Disney entertainment: Mickey Mouse. Thanks to Lawrence Lessig’s book, Free Culture, I now see this rat for what he truly is. I mean honestly it’s not like the world’s going to implode if Mickey Mouse gets released into the public domain. And are we just going to keep extending the copyright restrictions until the year 3000 when Mickey is an ancient artifact? On the other hand, many already consider him a part of the public domain. Any kid can scribble or trace a picture of Mickey absentmindedly. But then again, Andy Warhol appropriated him in his silk-screens and got sued. So, what’s the difference? Are you only allowed to breach copyright laws if the appropriation speaks in favor of the subject? And how can Disney possibly monitor all appropriations of their figurehead?
Which brings me to Japan. Lawrence Lessig talked about the relatively lax copyright laws in regards to doujinshi. Of course, he didn’t really give a very accurate description of what doujinshi is; it’s basically fan created works where artist pair characters together and write all sorts of lascivious plotlines that wouldn’t occur in the original series. A more accurate and less debauch example of lax copyright laws would be fan art in general. So, I started searching deviantART for such pieces. I found some sketches from a series called Naruto that I liked and decided to check out the artist’s online gallery. Under a particularly amazing CGI sketch (from another anime), someone in the comments acussed the artist of copying. Admittedly he wasn’t copying the image, so much as the style of another artist. I was amazed that people would brazenly accuse someone of copying, not the original anime on which the picture was based, but the style of another fan artist.

The Internet is making copyright laws considerably more confusing. Since it is essentially an open forum where anyone can post his or her work, does that mean everything is up for grabs? Can a fan artist sue another fan artist for stealing their style? When everything is a compilation and remix of many different “found” elements on the Internet, how can you discern who owns what? I view the Internet as the most tangible form of the collective unconscious. Claiming rights to certain aspects of it is like trying to own an archetype.