The White House posted a video of Tim and Moby in MAGA hats. Their creators responded with a copyright lesson.

This week, the White House featured Tim and Moby, the educational cartoon characters known for teaching science and history to children, wearing MAGA hats in a video posted to social media. The creators of Tim and Moby, a production called BrainPOP, responded with a copyright lesson of their own. The pair's creators explained that their characters were used in a manner that didn't criticize, comment on, or otherwise reference the characters themselves, which is considered copyright infringement.

BrainPOP, the company behind Tim and Moby, issued a statement on X about the complexities of copyright law. They highlighted that while copyright is a crucial topic, the situation at hand required a clarification. The video has garnered nearly 3 million views on X, with many applauding BrainPOP for standing up to the White House.

The White House removed the video from X but it remains on Instagram and Facebook. Copyright law experts suggested that BrainPOP could potentially file a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown request or sue the White House for using their characters in a partisan political context. However, they noted that the White House video likely wouldn't fall under fair use because the characters are highly creative works.