As the 1928 version of Mickey Mouse, the one present in Steamboat Willie, will enter public domain, every other subsequent Mickey Mouse film or evolution of the character is still protected by copyright law.
The beloved mouse that is nearly a century old will soon enter public domain — the original Mickey Mouse's copyright expires in 2024. This anthropomorphic mouse is recognizable even by the silhouette of his ears and, in some ways, has been the face of The Walt Disney Co. since his 1928 creation.
As a direct result of Disney lobbying, in 1998 Congress overhauled the copyright system to retroactively extend everything created between 1923 and 1977 to a 95-year term. That meant Mickey Mouse is safe at Disney until 2023, while Spider-Man won't become public domain until 2057.
And over the next dozen years or so, many other well-known characters will see their copyright expire, too, including: Mickey Mouse (2024) Pluto (2025) Donald Duck (2029)
Mickey Mouse, Batman, Superman and Bugs Bunny all become public domain in the next 10 years. The Hundred Acre Wood has seen some pretty unsettling things over the years.
There are many popular films and musicals that are based on novels that are now in the public domain. Obvious examples include Disney's Beauty and the Beast, which is based on the classic French fairy tale by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, as well as The Wizard of Oz, which is based on L.
Pooh, Piglet, Kanga, Roo, Owl, Eeyore and Christopher Robin all became public domain on January 1 last year when the copyright on A.A. Milne's 1926 book, Winnie-the-Pooh, with illustrations by E.H. Shepard, expired.
Disney argued that because Salten's original 1923 publication of the novel did not include a copyright notice, by American law it was immediately considered a public domain work.
While it is likely one of the best-selling books ever published, the actual total sales since its first publication are unknown due to the many reductions and different versions. The story has been a public domain work in the U.S. since 1940.
But because of his Norse origins, the character actually comes from the public domain. While Thor does also exist in DC Comics, that version pales in comparison to the popularity of Marvel's iteration of the character.
HLT: A few major Disney characters, such as Steamboat Willie and Winnie the Pooh, are now in the public domain, and others are expected to join them in the coming years.
Copyright law in the United States dictates that works published after the 95th year of publication will no longer be affected by copyright. This means that characters such as Superman, Wonder Woman, Mickey Mouse, Captain America, and Batman will be entering the public domain within the next 15 years.
Disney's lobbying efforts led to the Copyright Act of 1976, which allowed copyright protection for Disney's beloved character to be extended. Two decades later, Congress passed the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 (coined the 'Mickey Mouse Protection Act'). This created the current rules for WMFH copyrights.
In 1998, the short was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". As a work published in 1928, the cartoon will enter the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2024.
Disney still maintains the rights to the Winnie the Pooh characters created after 1926, including Tigger. If Tigger or any later character is used without permission, Disney may have a valid claim for infringement.
Despite being one of the most prominent characters in the source material, Tigger wasn't a part of the original Blood and Honey. The reason, as writer/director Rhys Frake-Waterfield told us earlier this year, was that Tigger wasn't a part of the public domain when the first movie was in production.
Under the first copyright law in the United States "The Man Trap" and most of Star Trek's first season would have entered the public domain in 1994. Reforms in 1909 pushed that to 2022, in 1976 to 2041. Currently, episodes of Star Trek won't enter the public domain until after 2060.
"Tinker Bell" appeared as a character in J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, first staged in 1904, and so the parties were in agreement that under copyright law, both the name and the character are in the public domain.
For example, the depiction of Snow White in the 1937 movie “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” will enter public domain sometime in the 2030s likely. But the character as Disney has portrayed her is still trademarked.
Today, animation historians refer to the original Tom and Jerry characters as Van Beuren's Tom and Jerry. Today, all of these cartoons are in the public domain.
Correction (3/2/2023): This article previously stated that Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown entered the public domain in 2023, which is incorrect. Both works are still protected under their original copyright.
With the current laws enacted in the United States, all material will eventually enter the public domain. That being said, there is currently a complete stop on material entering the public domain.
