Worlds in public domain?

[B.L.Morgan]

Washington, USA

The Question is: If a Science Fiction series is in public domain can an author have one of is characters visit that world without violating copyright laws???

I am thinking of having a character visit ERB's Barsoom.

Thank you very much.

B.L.Morgan

 

[FlyingRon]

Not all Edgar Rice Burroughs is in the public domain.
Trademarks never expire.

 

[The Occultist]

I held off replying on this one 'cause I have absolutely zero idea, and I was waiting for a more knowledgeable poster to come by as this post made me curious about it.

FR, you stepped up first! So...can this "world", seeing as how there is no marketing involved with it, be protected by trademark? What protections are maintained here?

 

[FlyingRon]

If the Burroughs estate isn't marketing things, then there probably isn't a trademark. The poster was speaking generically. Let's take for example, Sherlock Holmes. The copyright on the books has expired long ago, but however, the estate of Dame Jean Conan Doyle (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's daughter and quite a remarkable woman in her own right), still vigorously protects the Holmes trademark.

Complicated in the specific example, as I pointed out, is that while the Barsoom series started around 1910, more than half of the work, including most of the novelizations came out in the forties, and still likely is protected by copyright.

 

[Some Random Guy]

If the Burroughs estate isn't marketing things, then there probably isn't a trademark.

Yea, but this was a very popular series and there is a major studio (disney) movie coming out in 2012 based on the first novel. One would expect that the studio would be jealouusly guarding whatever IP they have.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Carter_of_Mars_(film)

 

[B.L.Morgan]

I am wondering if Barsoom has actually been trademark protected. The reason I am wondering is because of a movie that came out a while back named "A Princess of Mars." The movie starred Tracie Lords YouTube - Princess of Mars Trailer and I seriously doubt that anyone connected to Edgar Rice Burroughs would have OK-ed that one.


B.L.Morgan