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This Comment evaluates three approaches—the “distinctly delineated” test, the Towle test, and the “stock character” test—and argues that the stock character test best aligns with the constitutional requirement of minimal originality. It applies that framework to Daniels v. Walt Disney, concluding the Moodsters are copyrightable.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/character-copyrightability-in-chaos-how-unclear-character-copyrightability-tests-lead-to-improper-results/269470/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/character-copyrightability-in-chaos-how-unclear-character-copyrightability-tests-lead-to-improper-results/269470.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Terk","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-27","2026-09-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":34},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"Why does character copyrightability remain inconsistent in U.S. law?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Courts lack an explicit statutory protection standard for fictional characters and therefore develop and apply varying tests to decide whether a character is copyrightable.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"Which character copyrightability test does the Comment argue is the most appropriate?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The Comment argues that the “stock character” test is the appropriate test for courts to apply when evaluating character copyrightability.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What is the Comment’s conclusion about the Moodsters in Daniels v. Walt Disney?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Applying the stock character framework, the Comment concludes that the Moodsters are copyrightable and meet the relevant limitations under the idea/expression dichotomy.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},269470,1789452242,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":34,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":129,"read_time":144,"preview_page_count":4},1099525198933,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","CHARACTER COPYRIGHTABILITY IN CHAOS: HOW UNCLEAR CHARACTER COPYRIGHTABILITY TESTS LEAD TO IMPROPER RESULTS  \nKATHLEEN HANLEY*  \nCopyright law for fictional characters has been inconsistent since the first character copyright case in 1930. The lack of explicit statutory protection for fictional characters has led circuit courts to develop varying tests to determine character copyrightability. Several of these tests stray from the well-established constitutional principle that copyright protection is available for any work that exhibits a minimal level of originality and creativity. This Comment analyzes three different character copyright tests: (1) the “distinctly delineated” test, (2) the Towle test, and (3) the “stock character” test and argues that the “stock character” test is the appropriate test for courts to apply when evaluating character copyrightability. In light of this conclusion, this Comment further analyzes the recent Ninth Circuit case Daniels v. Walt Disney and concludes that Daniels’s characters, the Moodsters, are copyrightable under the appropriate“stock character” test.  \nTABLE OF CONTENTS  \nIntroduction .............................................................................. 1146  \nI. Background .................................................................... 1151  \nA. Purposes and Goals of Copyright Law .................... 1151  \nB. History of Character Copyright Law ....................... 1154  \n* Junior Staff Member, American University Law Review, Volume 71; J.D. Candidate, May 2023, American University Washington College of Law; B.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Virginia. Thank you to the Law Review staff for their thoughtful feedback, especially my Comment editor, Ryan Kaiser, and my final editor, Kelly Welsh. And thank you to my family and friends for their continuous support and encouragement.  \n1145  \n1146 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LAW REVIEW [Vol. 71:1145  \n1. The “distinctly delineated” test ........................... 1155  \n2. The Towle test ....................................................... 1157  \n3. The “stock character” test ................................... 1161  \nC. Daniels v. Walt Disney Co........................................... 1163  \nII. Analysis ......................................................................... 1165  \nA. The “Distinctly Delineated” Test Is Vague and Leads to Overprotection.................................. 1165  \nB. The Towle Test Discourages Creation of Original Characters and Improperly Mixes Trademark Doctrine with Copyright Law.............. 1169  \nC. The “Stock Character” Test Sets the Appropriately Low Bar of Originality..................... 1174  \nD. The Moodsters ......................................................... 1175  \n1. The Moodsters are copyrightable under the “stock character” test ................................... 1175  \n2. The Moodsters meet the limitations of the idea/expression dichotomy necessary to obtain copyright protection .......................... 1178  \nConclusion................................................................................. 1180  \nINTRODUCTION  \nWalt Disney Studios developed the first organized system of character merchandising in the 1930s when it began selling small massmarket products, such as t-shirts and toys featuring images of its famous Mickey and Minnie Mouse characters.1 The emergence of character merchandising altered the entertainment industry as characters at the center of large franchises, rather than specific actors or actresses, became the main attraction for movie and television audiences.2 With this shift in the entertainment industry, the value of characters and  \n1. Character Merchandising, WORLD INTELL. PROP. ORG. 1, 6 (1994), [https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/copyright/en/activities/pdf/wo_inf_108.p](https://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/copyright/en/activities/pdf/wo_inf_108.p)df [[https://perma.cc/EP6Q-QWPY](https://perma.cc/EP6Q-QWPY)].  \n2. See Marc B","cbCaivAFZpsDwrqZ","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivAFZpsDwrqZ","pdf",429072,37,"English","# Introduction\n## Background\n### Purposes and Goals of Copyright Law\n### History of Character Copyright Law\n## Analysis\n### The “Distinctly Delineated” Test Is Vague and Leads to Overprotection\n### The Towle Test Discourages Creation of Original Characters and Improperly Mixes Trademark Doctrine with Copyright Law\n### The “Stock Character” Test Sets the Appropriately Low Bar of Originality\n### The Moodsters","[{\"question\":\"Why does character copyrightability remain inconsistent in U.S. law?\",\"answer\":\"Courts lack an explicit statutory protection standard for fictional characters and therefore develop and apply varying tests to decide whether a character is copyrightable.\"},{\"question\":\"Which character copyrightability test does the Comment argue is the most appropriate?\",\"answer\":\"The Comment argues that the “stock character” test is the appropriate test for courts to apply when evaluating character copyrightability.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the Comment’s conclusion about the Moodsters in Daniels v. Walt Disney?\",\"answer\":\"Applying the stock character framework, the Comment concludes that the Moodsters are copyrightable and meet the relevant limitations under the idea/expression dichotomy.\"}]","Character Copyrightability in Chaos - How Unclear Character Copyrightability Tests Lead to Improper Results | PDF",93]