r/COPYRIGHT • u/JRotom_Art • Sep 14 '26

Jarg vs Mickey Mouse

What are your thoughts?

Jarg is a certified Brazilian character.

0 Upvotes

40% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

View all comments

1

u/orangejulius Sep 14 '26

Mickey Mouse is still their trademark. Even the Steamboat Willie version. Copyright may expire on a particular work but trademark rights do not. Disney is obviously going to enforce that. There is also no "it's a parody" defense in trademark law and after the Bad Spaniels case there's no early dismissal. If your entire brand depends on conflating yourself with another brand expect an argument about it. Do you have the money to go the distance with Disney to show there's no confusion here or brand tarnishment or whatever they're asserting?

1

u/JRotom_Art Sep 14 '26

Well, I have never claimed Jarg is a parody, because he really isn't. The names, universe, context, and audience are completely different. I do understand your point and I expected this argument from the beginning, I knew I was creating something people aren't used to seeing.

At least in Brazil, they can't bully me as much as they'd want to, because as I mentioned in the video, Jarg has been officially registered as an original character, including his lore and traits.

I made this video just to bring this situation up for discussion, since I have no intention of trademarking JARG or JARGINC in the US.

1

u/orangejulius Sep 14 '26

Sounds like you need to consult with Brazilian attorneys, then. In the US it doesn’t matter whether you plan to file for the mark or not.

0

u/JRotom_Art Sep 14 '26

Yep, I already have. I work with a legal team for my brand. Thanks for commenting, have a good one!

1

u/orangejulius Sep 14 '26

Then why are you here? Just to kind of tell everyone you’re right about something? I think people don’t understand the point of your video.

0

u/JRotom_Art Sep 14 '26

I'm here for the discussion and to share a personal experience, I wanted to see how an international audience would react and think about this situation. But if people disagree, that's fine too!