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Public Domain Rules Sticky

A topic by Deathbow created Jan 09, 2022 Views: 201 Replies: 5
Viewing posts 1 to 4
Host

Hi there!

Someone rightly pointed out that while Winnie the Pooh is now in the public domain in the United States, it might not be the case everywhere in the world. We need to make sure we are not running afoul of international copyright law. Therefore:

All entries must either be from an American team or have at least one team member who is American (which can make for a great networking opportunity!) People from other nations can play the games and vote. Please check the copyright laws in your country of residence to be sure that you are not running afoul of its copyright laws. 

Thank you!

Host

Please check your supporting characters. The original Winnie the Pooh book that has become public domain in the US includes only the following characters (the other franchise characters were added in later books that are not public domain yet, or were added by Disney), so are safe to use:

  • Pooh
  • Christopher Robin
  • Piglet
  • Eeyore
  • Kanga and Roo
  • Rabbit
  • Owl
  • Heffalump (not the charming little Disney invention but the scary full grown one that Pooh dreams about in the book)

Gopher is a particular creation of Disney. 

There are bees and a Queen Bee in this book that you can play with.

Tigger and Lottie the Otter were added in later books. 

Note that there are two places in the book where "Rabbit's animal friends" show up, and they are never described. There is opportunity there for these friends to be made up of new forest animals. 

Special thanks to Greg Lane for pointing this out!

Submitted (1 edit)

I'm Canadian.  Here, copyright lasts until 50 years after the author's death (which would have been 2006). Will I not be able to submit a game?

Host

You can! I just wanted people to check the laws where they are to make sure it’s allowed in their country of residence. I’m not a lawyer and can’t give legal advice, but if you’ve checked your local laws and are confident that the original Winnie the Pooh book is in the public domain where you are, go ahead and enter if you want to. Thanks for checking! 

I am from Germany. Can I submit a game?

Host

Check the public domain rules in your country. If the original Winnie the Pooh book is not in the public domain there, you will need an American on your team to participate.