<\/p>\n
Value creation and the importance of monitoring merchandising channels<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n During the series shooting, The Mandalorian<\/em>\u2019s producer Jon Favreau already estimated the value of the puppet used in the scenes and simply called \u201cthe Child\u201d (Baby Yoda is the name given by the public) at least 5 million dollars<\/a>. Such an estimate is actually realistic considering that at the moment this character\u2019s puppet is sold on Disney\u2019s online store<\/a> for up to 40 dollars\u00a0and that Disney\u2019s licensing engine is intensely exploiting it, as shown by the<\/strong> cereals<\/a> and the sanitary masks<\/a> branded Baby Yoda which are now entering the market<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It is important to remember that Disney\u2019s strategy was to keep the Child secret and hold back the launch of official merchandising products, in order to avoid the risk of spreading the character\u2019s details before the TV series was broadcasted. Therefore, Disney had to wait several months before getting the rewards of the immediate success obtained by the new mascot.<\/p>\n Although the arrival on the market of the official merchandising was scheduled for 2020, the Child\u2019s online success (in GIFs, memes and on social networks) and the lack of official merchandising caused many unlicensed products to spread around<\/strong>. In particular, that happened on Etsy<\/a>, the e-commerce platform for handicrafts, where several users started offering for sale products dedicated to \u201cThe Child\/Baby Yoda\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Online Brand Protection<\/a>: the balance of the force<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n Disney is well known for its strong interest to protect its IP rights. In this respect, we can recall that Disney\u2019s influence upon the US regulation regarding the extension of copyright<\/a> protection terms was so powerful to nickname it \u201cMickey Mouse Act\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n Even in this occasion, considering the increase of unauthorized products, Disney immediately pointed out its major threats and activated its IP rights to promptly obtain their enforcement<\/strong>: Etsy sellers soon started to receive a message telling that their offers were removed due to Disney\u2019s claim of IP rights infringement. Meanwhile, also animated GIFs of The Mandalorian<\/em> scenes featuring the Child started to be removed from some platforms<\/a>.<\/p>\n This shows how Disney proactively initiated an extensive search for illicit uses of Baby Yoda character in the weeks before the launch of the original merchandising, in order to make room for its official products<\/strong>. In fact, Disney fully exploited the potentialities of its IP rights and demonstrated that intangible assets are fundamental in the development of a well-structured merchandising strategy ranging from the IP rights protection to the granting of licenses for several kinds of products connected to them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Copyright and Trademarks: everybody protects Baby Yoda<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n The (only temporary) removal of GIFs gave way to several discussions, in particular about the definition of fair use<\/em> in copyrighted works, according to the US law. Indeed, such definition seems to include \u2013 and therefore to legitimate \u2013 the use of copyrighted works in contents either very brief or satirical (precisely like GIFs).<\/p>\n In this regard, it should be noticed that not only The Mandalorian<\/em> series, but also other fictional characters connected to it can be protected in some cases.<\/p>\n First of all, Disney can use its registered trademarks <\/a><\/strong>corresponding to the characters\u2019 names<\/strong> (in this case YODA, the registered trademark related to the character of the original Star Wars Trilogy which the Child took inspiration from, while for BABY YODA there are no registered trademarks at the moment) and to the titles of the works they belong to<\/strong> (THE MANDALORIAN, STAR WARS).<\/p>\n In Italy, both the above-mentioned signs \u2013 as notorious signs used in the artistic field \u2013 can be registered as trademarks only by the entitled subjects having rights on the related work, according to article 8 of the IPC.<\/p>\n It is interesting to highlight that the initial notifications<\/strong> made by Disney to the platform Etsy for the enforcement of the products<\/strong> dedicated to \u201cYODA\u201d were based exactly on Disney\u2019s trademarks corresponding to the name of the fiction character.<\/p>\n