5 Ways Copyright Has Changed Christmas

Christmas, and the holiday season more broadly, is not just a time of celebration, it’s also both the inspiration/focus for countless creative works and a major economic force in much of the world.

Because of that, intellectual property, in particular copyright, has played a fairly significant role in both shaping how the holiday is celebrated and who gets the royalty check from said celebration.

As such, it’s worth taking a second to understand just some of the ways that copyright has changed the holiday season, including beloved films that you can’t easily find anymore, songs that you hear everywhere and unexpected challenges in finding the perfect gift.

1: Public Domain Christmas Movies and Songs

Whether you are the owner of a store, a radio station DJ or a TV station looking to fill some air time with holiday-related material, there is a simple reason to seek out public domain content: It’s free.

But when it comes to Christmas classics, what is and is not in the public domain is often very tricky. 

When looking at music, there’s a wide range of Christmas songs that are in the public domain (at least their compositions are). This includes songs like Jingle Bells, Deck the Halls and Silent Night to name a few. However, other Christmas staples, such as Frosty the Snowman, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and Little Drummer Boy are still very much copyright protected and often have decades to go before that changes.

This explains why many of those songs are heavily represented in Christmas films. The lack of copyright protection on the composition makes them easier and cheaper to license, as only the sound recording itself has rights to clear.

Speaking of Christmas movies, public domain films are fewer and far between. That said, there are some, including camp favorites Santa Claus (Versus the Devil) and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.

However, there is one Christmas film that is best known for being in the public domain, even if it (functionally) isn’t the case anymore. 

2: It’s a Wonderful Life

It’s a Wonderful Life is a 1946 film that is based on The Greatest Gift, a short story by Philip Van Doren Stern. However, at the time of release, the film was not a major success and, when it came time to file for the copyright extension (which was required by law at the time), Republic Pictures failed to do so.

This placed the film in the public domain starting in 1974. However, that led to something of a renaissance for the film, with it getting near-constant airplay on TV networks, turning it into a holiday staple.

However, in 1990, the Supreme Court ruled on a case involving a different James Stewart film, Rear Window. There, rightsholders had successfully protected the rights of the story separate from the film and, since the rights to the short story had been renewed, Republic Pictures saw a path to reclaim control of the film.

Technically, It’s a Wonderful Life is still public domain. However, both the story and the music from the film are not. This means that out of context clips without sound are still fine (and regularly used in other Christmas films), but airing the complete movie requires permission from rightsholders.

Republic Pictures began enforcing their rights in the film in 1993 and signed a “long-term” exclusive deal with NBC in 1994.

3: The Battle Over Unlicensed Toys

The 2019 holiday season was an unusual time. Disney+ had just started streaming, and excitement for The Mandalorian was at a fever pitch. This was especially true for the series’ breakout character, Grogu, better known as “Baby Yoda.

However, there was a problem. With the launch of the series so close to the holidays and a strong push for secrecy, there was no opportunity to prepare toys or other gifts for eager shoppers during the Christmas season.

But, what Disney did not provide officially, the internet provided on sites such as Etsy and eBay. Both sites quickly became flooded with “Baby Yoda” merchandise. Disney responded with wave after wave of takedown notices, but wasn’t able to greatly stem the flow of unauthorized merchandise.

With no official merchandise to be found, the copycats kept popping up. 

However, this isn’t an issue that began or ended with Baby Yoda. Unlicensed merchandise continues to be a major problem, both or marketplaces that sell handcrafted goods and those that sell manufactured ones. 

While the “Baby Yoda” story was unique because there was no official merchandise to be found, even today, it’s important to be careful where you buy from if you’re seeking an authentic product.

4: The Biggest Grinch of All

Another staple of the holiday season is How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Whether in animated, book or musical form, the popular Dr. Seuss work has remained one of the most beloved Christmas tales and Christmas characters.

However, most people know that both the book and the animated special are both protected by copyright. What is less known is just how aggressive the estate of Dr. Seuss has been in defending those rights.

In 2017, a theater group began work on a play entitled Who’s Holiday, which was a one-woman show featuring a foul-mouthed grown-up version of the character Cindy Lou Who.

However, shortly before opening, the play received a cease and desist letter from the Seuss estate, prompting the theater group to file a lawsuit seeking a ruling of non-infringement. 

The theater group ultimately won, including it being upheld on appeal, and the play went forward. 

A similar situation came up last year with the release of The Mean One, a slasher movie parody of The Grinch. The Seuss estate did not take any action against the film, and it was released without issue. 

However, that doesn’t mean that the Seuss estate has backed off its Grinch-themed enforcement. Just this year, photographers began to warn one another about using the character in holiday-themed photo shoots, saying that the Seuss estate was actively pursuing for-profit use of the character in holiday shoots and sending cease-and-desist letters. 

In short, whenever a Christmas copyright story comes up, there are even odds that the Seuss estate (and The Grinch) will be involved with it somehow.

5: The Many Christmas Copyright Myths 

These and other stories have, understandably, led to a great deal of confusion about how copyright applies to the holiday season. That, in turn, has led to more than a few myths about the holiday. 

To dispel two of the bigger ones, first, it’s worth noting that the modern image of Santa Claus was not created by nor is it owned by Coca Cola. Their version was based heavily on the 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas, better known was The Night Before Christmas (see my dubious parody of it here). Though Coca-Cola helped popularize it, they did not create that particular image.

On the other hand, the Elf on the Shelf is a relatively new “tradition” that was first published in 2005. The book was written by the mother/daughter team of Carol Aebersold and Chanda Bell, who wanted to write a book based on their family tradition. 

The publishers have been aggressively protecting their work, including a 2011 lawsuit that failed to block publication of a parody book. The toy has also been criticized for being a commercial product that is passed off as a tradition.

In short, if you have a question about whether or not something is in the public domain, the best thing to do, check and find out.

Bottom Line

The Christmas season is a boon for both creativity and for the pocketbook. When you combine those two, you set the stage for clashes around copyright and other intellectual property. 

Fortunately, there’s not a separate copyright system for holiday-themed works. You don’t need to learn a new set of rules, just understand the regular set and realize that they fully apply.

If you do that and are careful about the works you use and how you use them, you should be able to have both a full and an infringement-free holiday season…