Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) is adapted from the German fairy tale “Snow White” by the Brothers Grimm, That fairy tale is in the public domain, and so anyone is free to make a film adaptation from it.
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.
Let me explain. If anyone involved with Snow White believed that people want their celibate warrior-princess story, then why would they rely upon intellectual property that they don't own to market their story? That's right: Disney does not own Snow White because that fairy tale is in the public domain.
Snow White is in the public domain. However, the physical depiction of Snow White, with the 1930s bob haircut, the yellow and red dress with blue puff sleeves, is under Disney copyright and trademark, as are the names and depictions of the seven vertically challenged people.
The title you have selected ( Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ) is a post-1927 publication by an author who died more than 50 years ago. Such titles are in the public domain in many countries, particularly those outside the US and Europe.
According to US copyright law, the rights for a character expire 95 years after the publication of the original work. Disney will lose the Mickey Mouse copyright for Steamboat Willie in 2024, since the short animated film was produced and distributed in 1928.
Most notably for the toy industry, these public domain characters include Mickey Mouse, Superman, Winnie the Pooh, Bambi, Batman, and Bugs Bunny. Before you begin placing Batman logos on your toys, however, be mindful that the freedom to use these characters is limited to how they looked when they first appeared.
Disney does not own the stories of Snow White or Cinderella. The company could not register copyright that would prevent anyone from using the underlying story. However, Disney does own the copyright to the animated films it made featuring those characters.
There would be minimal appetite by Republicans in Congress to reward Disney with a copyright extension. The Mickey Mouse we recognize today, like this image from Fantasia (1940), will still have copyright protection until 2036. As it stands, Steamboat Willie will enter the public domain on January 1, 2024.
"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.
Nowadays, “The Little Prince” book is in the public domain in most countries in the world (except France and the United States, in particular), and its fame has exploded along with the number of editions and translations published in these countries.
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 there are limits to what someone can do with public domain characters. For one thing, the character can only be used as it existed 95 years earlier. Let's take Superman, for example, who first appeared in DC's Action Comics #1 in 1938 and enters the public domain in 2033.
The children's book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum in 1900 is in the public domain. This follows the general rule that any work published before 1923 is in the public domain. The film, The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland and directed in 1939 by Victor Fleming is NOT in the public domain.
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.
The original Little Mermaid story or 'Den lille havfrue' was published in 1837 and has long since been in the public domain. In 1989 Disney Studios took advantage of the fact that this literary work was in the public domain and released their animated movie.
In 1928, copyrights lasted for 28 years, with the option for renewal of another 28 years. As of 2023, Mickey Mouse was published almost 95 years ago. The copyright of the original Mickey Mouse character – as it appeared in “Steamboat Willie” – expires on January 1, 2024.
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.
Neither "Bambi" nor "Pinocchio" are original Disney characters and the latter is in the public domain as far as copyright goes. All of the Disney imagery surrounding the characters is Disney property.
Can Mickey Mouse Copyright be Renewed? No, the Mickey Mouse copyright cannot be renewed. It will expire in 2023 – 95 years after Disney published Mickey Mouse for the first time.
This deep history puts Cinderella into the public domain, which has allowed many authors to build on the story and a allowed the character to become as well known as she is today.
