# USPS Shilling for Disney: Anyone Else Object? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 27, 2005, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451 "2005-07-27T19:41:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/21 "2005-08-05T14:06:07Z")
I’m with **Sal**. This kind of blatant commercial promo on U.S. postage stamps really annoys me. The Little Mermaid, Bambi, Thumper etc. are Disney property, still making money for the company as we speak, zealously protected by Disney’s legions of lawyers against copyright infringement, and under copyrights that have been indefinitely extended - thanks to Congress’s eagerness to help Disney and other studios make an end-run around the Constitution’s provision “securing _for limited times_ to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries” (Art. I, Sec. 8, cl. 8). The subjects depicted on U.S. postage stamps should be of national significance or of broad public interest, and not financially benefit any particular individual or for-profit company, IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/22 "2005-08-05T14:49:36Z")
I have no problem with the USPS doing this. To say they shouldn’t, well as other people have pointed out, they’re a not-for-profit. They have to raise their own money. I work in a not-for-profit, and I know how tenuous it is. And yet I can still send a letter to India for only $0.80. That’s 7,000 miles, that is. Nope, they should do whatever it takes to keep them in business. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2005, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/23 "2005-08-05T14:50:25Z")
Blind people get free mail (in the US)? Really? I did not know that. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/24 "2007-10-08T17:03:27Z")
It should be noted that even though the Disney series was only supposed to last 3 years, the USPS has announced its 5th (and they claim final) installment for next year. The Blocks of 4/Sheets of 20 2004: _Pinocchio, Bambi, The Lion King_, Mickey w/Donald & Goofy 2005: _Snow White, Alice in Wonderland, The Little Mermaid_, Mickey w/Pluto 2006: _Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, Beauty and the Beast_, Mickey w/Minnie 2007: _Dumbo, Peter Pan, Aladdin_, Mickey in _Fantasia_ **2008** : _Sleeping Beauty, 101 Dalmatians, The Jungle Book_, Mickey in _Steamboat Willie_ ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/25 "2007-10-08T17:24:22Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] And both Sinatra and Harburg had icon status – debate if you will – whereas the Little Mermaid is a derivative piece of mediocrity that within 50 years will have just about vanished from America’s cultural consciousness. [/QUOTE] Funny, I’d’ve said the same thing about Sinatra. But, unfortunetly, the public at large steadfastly refuses to perfectly mirror my personal preferences. Disney’s _The Little Mermaid_ is almost 20 years old: it came out in '89. And, as you note, it continues to move merchandise. You might not like the movie, but it’s difficult to argue that it’s not already a strong contender for iconic status. It was the first salvo in the “Disney Renaissance,” a period that saw Disney release movie after movie to enormous popular and critical success, a period unparralled in that company’s history since it’s original hayday under Walt himself. From a cultural standpoint, _The Little Mermaid_ is arguably as important as _Snow White_. And _Snow White_ ain’t going anywhere in fifty years. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/26 "2007-10-08T17:44:59Z")
I’m not going to get twisted about Disney icons on stamps. I haven’t bought any, but I have bought a plate of Marvel Comics stamps. And I think that Bugs and Daffy have had their turn. I like cartoons and think it’s great that cartoons are being given their cultural props. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/27 "2007-10-08T17:48:43Z")
Are images on stamps in the public domain? I believe the government itself cannot copyright anything. Does this include the Post Office? Obviously, counterfeiting a stamp is illegal, but what if I scanned a stamp and photoshopped out the markings that make it a stamp? Would I then have a public domain image, that I could use freely? (Could I do the same think with images on currency?) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/28 "2007-10-08T17:50:51Z")
[QUOTE=BwanaBob] USPS policy forbids honoring living people - you must be dead 10 years, or a recently deceased US president. There have been 3 exceptions to the 10 year rule as far as I know- Winston Churchill, Dag Hammerskjold, and … Walt Disney himself. [/QUOTE] **Bob** , this was a well-thought-out and -expressed post generally, on the virtues of public commemoration. I’d like to nitpick one thing: there is one other general exception to the 10 year rule: The year after the death of a former U.S. President, a commemorative honoring his life is, or at least may be and usually is, issued. I believe the date of issue is often set for the late President’s birthday, but I don’t have a cite. Someone linked to the rules on who may be depicted on a stamp and when a year or two ago, but I was not able to locate them in a quick Google. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/29 "2007-10-08T18:38:02Z")
[QUOTE=BwanaBob] They had a Winnie-the-Pooh sheet about 10 years ago. There’s a link to Winnie and Canada (I think the inspiration bear was from a Canadian zoo), and Winnie existed before Disney obviously, but since it is now a Disney property, that stamp was extremely popular and I believe it has a high catalogue value now. (Lucky me has one 🙂 ) [/QUOTE] It certainly is Canadian. Winnie is short for Winnipeg. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/30 "2007-10-08T19:06:43Z")
Stop whining. It’s not like the Post Office repainted the mailboxes for Disney. [This isn’t the mailbox you’re looking for.](http://a5.vox.com/6a00b8ea067a4edece00d09e5c989dbe2b-500pi) ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/31 "2007-10-08T19:30:19Z")
Interesting that there’s a UPS truck in the background of that photo. Coincidentally, that highlights one of the forces that the USPS is up against. They didn’t used to have competitors; now they do. Lurking right there in the background, ready to take USPS’s business. ---
**Author:** ![storyteller0910](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecae2f/32.png) [@storyteller0910](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/storyteller0910)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/32 "2007-10-08T20:23:00Z")
[QUOTE=Sal Ammoniac] …whereas the Little Mermaid is a derivative piece of mediocrity that within 50 years will have just about vanished from America’s cultural consciousness. [/QUOTE] Just like Mickey Mouse and the song “Whistle While You Work,” right? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/33 "2007-10-08T21:20:31Z")
I don’t object. I suppose I wouldn’t care even if I didn’t believe that the reason they do it is to help sell stamps. Collectors buy whole pages of stamps and don’t use them. I don’t know what they make from collectors, but as I said I believe it enough to justify allowing them to do it. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/34 "2007-10-08T21:36:41Z")
Philatelists are becoming increasingly brazen in flaunting their disgusting, perverted predilections and it’s high time decent people put a stop to it! :eek: …what? ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/35 "2007-10-08T21:56:36Z")
The R2D2 mailbox was (I presume) painted that way to advertise the USPS’s Star Wars Stamps. There have also been sheets of stamps with DC-comics and Marvel-Comics super-heroes. In short, Disney isn’t the only one. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/36 "2007-10-08T22:17:45Z")
Meh. The USPS offers stamps celebrating American cultural icons. Sometimes these are people (Elvis, Sinatra, etc.). Sometimes not. I wouldn’t object to a stamp commemorating the Model T Ford, even if Ford is a currently-existing corporation. Why should I object to a stamp commemorating Disney, which is equally iconic? Besides, stamp collectors subsidize postal rates for the rest of us. I don’t mind the USPS pimping itself out if it means I pay a few cents less to mail something. ---
**Author:** ![ouryL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ouryl/32/6067_2.png) [@ouryL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ouryL)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2007, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/37 "2007-10-08T23:16:15Z")
:mad: You can have my Wonder Woman stamps, when you pry them from my cold dead fingers. :o ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2007, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/38 "2007-10-09T07:52:11Z")
Stamps will be antiquated remnants of a bygone era, soon enough. The only things that will use snail mail will be parcel deliveries, which already don’t use regular stamps that often. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/39 "2007-10-10T01:48:22Z")
Didn’t they have Warner Bros characters (Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, etc) on stamps awhile back? ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2007, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451/40 "2007-10-10T02:57:31Z")
[QUOTE=Pleonast] Are images on stamps in the public domain? I believe the government itself cannot copyright anything. Does this include the Post Office? Obviously, counterfeiting a stamp is illegal, but what if I scanned a stamp and photoshopped out the markings that make it a stamp? Would I then have a public domain image, that I could use freely? (Could I do the same think with images on currency?) [/QUOTE] All of your answers regarding the stamp issue can be found here: [http://www.usps.com/communications/organization/noncommlicensing.htm](http://www.usps.com/communications/organization/noncommlicensing.htm) See especially this part: > [@](#): > > IMPORTANT NOTE: In some cases, a stamp image is jointly owned by the USPS and other entities. In these cases, permission must be obtained from the joint owner(s) and proof must be submitted to the USPS Licensing Group prior to approval for use of stamp image. If this applies to your application, you will be notified in writing once it is has been reviewed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/usps-shilling-for-disney-anyone-else-object/314451.md?page=3)