Protecting Characters through Copyright Law: Paving a New Road upon Which Literary, Graphic, and Motion Picture Characters Can All Travel
Dean D. Niro · Digital Commons-DePaul (DePaul University) · 2014
The Ebenezer Scrooge character appeared in Charles Dickens' story A Christmas Carol.The story A Christmas Carol can no longer be protected by copyright because Charles Dickens has been dead for over 50 years.The copyright in a work extends throughout the life of the author and for a period of 50 years after the author's death.17 U.S.C. § 302.Because Ebenezer Scrooge is a well recognized character, for the purpose of this Article it will be presumed that the story A Christmas Carol would today be entitled copyright protection.