On: What Could Have Entered the Public Domain on Janua...

[dublinben]

Here's some more information on the subject: http://copyright.nova.edu/mickey-public-domain/

[protomyth → dublinben]

> the Court ruled that in order for trademark to protect a character in the public domain, the character must have obtained “secondary meaning.”

That's a pretty high bar, and what I suggested for a compromise was quite a bit lower.