Pinocchio: A BAFTA Win With No Strings Attached

• Published date: 22 February 2023
• Subject Matter: Media, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment, Broadcasting: Film, TV & Radio
• Law Firm: Marks & Clerk
• Author: Mr Graeme Murray

Back in November I attended the Gala Screening of Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio at Manchester Animation Festival, and it's no surprise to see that it won the BAFTA for Best Animation last night.

The look, feel, and tone of Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio is markedly different from the original Disney Movie or the Disney remake, also released in 2022. It is a darker version of the original Pinocchio story by Carlo Collodi, published in 1881, and it uses stop motion.

The original story is in the public domain, so it is free for third parties to exploit. However, the use of Guillermo Del Toro's Pinocchio in the title itself has clearly been done to avoid any confusion with Disney.

Just because something is in the public domain, that does not mean that you are free to directly copy the look, feel or branding of prior works that are also based on the original work. I have previously written about this in more detail...