Disney’s iconic mouse entered the public domain on Monday. The list of works whose copyright protection expires today in the United States was presented on Monday. Alongside Mickey and Minnie there is also Tigger, the tiger friend of Winnie the Pooh, but also various literary and musical works.
Mickey Mouse offers himself to the world. Some 95 years after his creation, the iconic Disney mouse entered the public domain on Monday, January 1st.
Like every year, the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke Law School has presented the list of works whose copyright protection expires today in the United States. And the first two versions of the characters Mickey and Minnie, who appeared in the cartoons “Steamboat Willie” (1928) and “Plane Crazy” (1928) are now royalty-free, paving the way for potential revivals, adaptations and derivative products, but also to the legal battles with Disney. Their copyrights expired after 95 years under US law.
Until now, cartoonists, filmmakers, authors or anyone else who wants to use their likeness have been limited by Disney’s frequent use of justice to stop copyright violations. But now artists will be able to freely copy, share or adapt “Steamboat Willie” and “Plane Crazy,” as well as use early versions of the characters that appear in them, including Mickey Mouse and his sidekick Minnie Mouse.
However, later versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse, which have appeared in many Disney films and television programs over the years, still remain protected by copyright.
Legal skirmishes
“What’s in the public domain is this kind of black-and-white scary little animal,” Justin Hughes, a law professor at Loyola University, puts into perspective. “The Mickey Mouse most familiar to current generations of Americans will remain protected by copyright,” he continues to AFP, saying that he expects “this will give rise to legal skirmishes.”
The character that appears in these first cartoons is a threadlike and mischievous creature, quite far from the current appearance of the mascot. Formal notices could be sent to creators who dare to use newer elements of the character, such as his red shorts or his white gloves, the researcher predicts.
“Whatever you do, to be protected from copyright infringement charges, you really have to create new things and make sure you’re building on ‘Steamboat Willie,'” Harvard law professor Rebecca Tushnet tells CNN.
In fact, he points out, even if it has to “reluctantly admit” its influence on the image of “Steamboat Willie,” the Disney company will certainly sue anyone who reproduces a version of the cartoon that more closely resembles Mickey Mouse.
Brand name
The Disney group therefore assured that “it is working to put in place safeguard measures to avoid any confusion among consumers linked to unauthorized uses of Mickey Mouse or other emblematic characters”. The multinational could thus rely on those who protect the registered trademark. In fact, if copyright expired on January 1st, this is not the case for those who protect the registered trademark.
The former prohibit the unlicensed reproduction of the creative work and expire after a certain period. The latter protect the source of the work from products that could mislead consumers into believing that it came from the original author. These rights can be renewed indefinitely.
The company also added a scene from “Willie’s Steamboat” to the opening of all animated films produced by its studios.
“At Disney they were very smart: they understood that the best thing to do was to turn this iconic scene into a registered trademark,” observes Justin Hughes.
Therefore, anyone who uses this image of Mickey Mouse at the helm of the ship for commercial purposes is exposed to potential legal action.
Other experts, such as Jennifer Jenkins, are more optimistic about the possibilities for use in the public domain.
“Our Supreme Court has clearly stated that you cannot enforce trademark rights to circumvent copyright expiration,” he recalls.
However, all experts expect future legal battles. Anyone intending to use the Disney mascot commercially “should proceed with caution and retain a lawyer,” judges Justin Hugues.
Tigger, Lady Chatterley’s lover…
Mickey Mouse isn’t the only character to have entered the public domain. In 2022, it is the Winnie the Pooh character (by AA Milne) whose copyright has expired, opening the door to more fantastical interpretations of the teddy bear, having notably enabled the creation of a horror film in 2023, ‘Winnie the Pooh: Blood and honey’.
In 2024, “Winnie the Pooh: A Bear’s Home” also falls into the public domain, a book in which the character of Tigger appears for the first time, and with it the tiger.
Now released, the character of Tigger will most likely be able to join Winnie in the horror film, for which a sequel is in the works.
“The Blue Train” by Agatha Christie, Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence, “Orlando: A biography” by Viginia Woolf, or Bobby Darin’s musical hit, “Mack the Knife”, based on the German musical drama L’Opéra de quat’ sous have also had their copyright removed.
With AFP
2024-01-01 20:08:10
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