The copyright on the 1928 movie “Steamboat Willie” – the short film that introduced the world to Mickey Mouse – will expire in 2024. That means the Steamboat-Willie-version of Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain.
In truth, the earliest version of Mickey Mouse, which first appeared in the 1928 landmark animated short Steamboat Willie, will be entering the public domain when the film's copyright expires in 2024.
Batman, Superman, Mickey Mouse, and Even Bugs Bunny Are Entering the Public Domain. After decades of protection, several notable properties will enter the public domain in 2024 and beyond. That means you can use them without having to pay a licensing fee.
As per the US copyright law, the rights to characters expire 95 years after publication (for works published or registered before 1978). Thus, Disney, which is also called the House of Mouse due to the character, may lose the rights to the character.
Mickey Mouse Copyright Expires in 2023 - What Happens Next?
Has Disney lost money 2023?
EPS from continuing operations for the nine months ended July 1, 2023 decreased to $1.14 from $1.66 in the prior-year period. Excluding certain items(1), diluted EPS for the nine months ended July 1, 2023 decreased to $2.94 from $3.22 in the prior-year period.
While Disney may no longer have copyright protection for Winnie the Pooh, there are still opportunities for legal recourse that Disney can take. Disney still maintains the rights to the Winnie the Pooh characters created after 1926, including Tigger.
Any creators have to ensure whatever product they are producing is not related to Disney in any way. On January 1, 2024, the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse will become public domain.
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.
Walt Disney Co. has controlled the rights to Winnie-the-Pooh since 1961 and kept depictions of Milne's talking animals true to the spirit of the family-friendly material. The copyright expired in January 2022. Since then, Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends have been available to the public for other purposes.
Mickey Mouse (originally known as Mickey Mouse Sound Cartoons) is a series of American animated comedy short films produced by Walt Disney Productions. The series started in 1928 with Steamboat Willie and ended in 2013 with Get a Horse!, taking a hiatus from 1953 to 1983.
When Walt Disney failed to sell Mickey Mouse the first time around, he had to evaluate the features of the product to determine what would satisfy his customers' needs and wants. Disney created a voice and a personality for the mouse character that ended up making the Mickey Mouse's character a huge success.
Mickey Mouse is a heroic cartoon character originating from the Disney production, created by the late Walt Disney. Despite Mickey being a hero, in some media he is shown to do villainous acts, mainly when he's being parodied or satirized in non-Disney media.
Under the Copyright Term Extension Act, books published in 1929, films released in 1929, and other works published in 1929, will enter the public domain in 2025. Sound recordings that were published in 1924 will enter the public domain. The character Popeye the Sailor Man will enter the public domain in 2025.
Unless you're in possession of a license(more on this later) from the licensing department of Disney, you're not allowed to sell any of their products.
Among the stories they told in their famous fairy tale collection were Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and other stories that inspired Disney. 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.
There are a vast amount of shops who sell mouse ears, and they are legally allowed to. Disney does not own the rights to mouse ears. What they do own the rights to is Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse. So, while ears are okay, the silhouette (including the head of the mice) is not okay.
What happens to Mickey Mouse after copyright expires?
For example, Disney will no longer hold the copyright on that version of Mickey Mouse, but they will still hold the trademark on Mickey Mouse. That offers Disney protection against 'consumer confusion. '
Well, the studio had no choice. That's because the 1926 storybook, titled Winnie-the-Pooh, which introduced the titular character, passed into the public domain at the start of 2022, voiding its copyright, and thus Disney's media exclusivity over the character.
Thanks to copyright term extensions over the years, Disney still owns the rights for Milne's books and characters published after 1926 — including Tigger — as well as later materials published by the company using Milne's characters.
While Tigger did not appear in the first Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, which transforms the A. A. Milne characters Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet into killers, he will play a major role in the sequel due to the character entering the public domain as of January 2024.
