Ok, i understand that every movie and their expanded/original content is owned by their respective studios, and that certain trademarks could be in place so that you cannot make a book or movie literally called “ king kong” or “king of the apes/monsters, etc.” that may be misconstrued for past adaptations.
My question is about using the original book characters, names, plot, and story of the book in my own personal work (with a unique title to avoid trademark infringement).
Because I have seen multiple sources say that although the book is public domain, the cooper estate have rights to the name, character and story outside of the films, while still acknowledging the novel's public domain status. But there are still published books and comics “approved by the cooper estate”. How does that make sense?
Source: r/publicdomain · by /u/LaughDue6556