Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and other Disney princesses: Characters from its various animated films featuring princesses, such as Ariel from “The Little Mermaid,” Belle from “Beauty and the Beast,” and Jasmine from “Aladdin,” are part of its intellectual property.
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.
Stories of Cinderella and these other princesses are in the public domain with a major caveat — it depends on the iteration of the story and Disney's Cinderella et al. are trademarked.
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.
Aladdin — both the character and the basic story elements — are wholly in the public domain. Everyone has the right to retell the story of the kid, the lamp and the genie. Disney's Aladdin, including its songs and dialogue, are property of the Mouse House.
Works in the public domain may be used and built upon, free from permissions or fees. Characters such as “The Lion King” and “Mary Poppins” live in the public domain, and recently have been re-imagined and remastered to fit new creative visions. Cecil B.
"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.
Mona Lisa is in the public domain and not subject to copyright, whereas some modern works based on the original such as Marcel Duchamp's L.H.O.O.Q. are protected by copyright law.
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.
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.
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.
To utilise Disney characters without violating their rights, you must obtain permission from The Walt Disney Company or its subsidiaries. Its characters are protected by copyright and trademark laws, and unauthorised use can lead to legal consequences.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 I Sell Disney-themed Handmade Items on Etsy? This is explicitly illegal. While you may find thousands of stores on Etsy selling handmade Disney products, this isn't legal, unless they have a specific license.
The Sleeping Beauty tale, Little Brier Rose, is part of the Household Stories book published in 1812. As such, most of the original stories, including the Grimm version, have been part of the public domain for a long time. So, Disney didn't have much trouble adapting the story fans know today.
