The company tacitly acknowledges that 'Steamboat Willie' is in the public domain.

• Disney retracts copyright claim on a YouTuber’s “Steamboat Willie” video, allowing it to be monetizable and shareable worldwide.

• The claim had previously demonetized the video and restricted its visibility and embedding options.

• This move by Disney may signal its recognition of “Steamboat Willie” being in the public domain.

  • @[email protected]English
    44•6 months ago

    And they’re pretty much required to take things down, it prevents them from being liable. After that, the uploader can challenge this decision, and if the claimer doesn’t back down, it goes to court.

    Unfortunately, claimers are currently not required to provide any proof, nor are they required to pay for any legal costs (at least not upfront), so it’s just simpler for the uploader to take the L.

    • @[email protected]English
      40•6 months ago

      This is the key issue; the DMCA provides basically no penalty for making false claims. The natural choice is to claim everything and see who fights you.

    • conciselyverbose
      4•6 months ago

      They’re only required to take stuff down in response to DMCA claims.

      They have absolutely no obligation for their alternate process to treat claims as valid until proven false.