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.
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. '
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.
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.
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.
Mickey Mouse Copyright Expires in 2023 - What Happens Next?
Did Winnie-the-Pooh copyright expire?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
After that, the copyrighted material falls into the public domain, meaning anyone can use it however they'd like. That's why, ahead of the company's 100th birthday this October, we've started seeing NSFW depictions of classic Disney characters. The prime example: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.
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.
No, Disney cannot renew the copyright for Mickey Mouse. The copyright will expire by law in 2023. Disney cannot obtain a Mickey Mouse copyright extension. However, Disney also still owns trademarks for Mickey Mouse, which do not expire in 2023.
Any future iterations of Mickey Mouse – including any showing Mickey Mouse in color – are still under Disney's control. But the copyright on the Steamboat-Willie-version will run out in 2024 after 95 years. Initially, copyrights only lasted 28 years.
Copyright renewal is a copyright formality through which an initial term of copyright protection for a work can be extended for a second term. Once the term of copyright protection has ended, the copyrighted work enters the public domain, and can be freely reproduced and incorporated into new works.
This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published in 1910, before the cutoff of January 1, 1928. The longest-living author of this work died in 1943, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 79 years or less.
He's public domain. Popeye's image now belongs to the world. There are no longer royalties to pay because his creator, Elzie Segar, died in 1939, and in much of the world, copyright expires 70 years after the creator's death.
Like Doyle's short stories still under copyright protection, elements from A.A. Milne's second book, The House at Pooh Corner, are not yet in the public domain. Tigger was first introduced in this second book, and therefore is still copyright protected and cannot be used without a proper license.
Does Disney sue people for copyright infringement?
Because it is such a recognizable brand, many creators like to incorporate it into their content or products in order to boost views and sales. As you might expect, Disney is not down for that. Disney has a long history of battling every single copyright infringement, even from small shops or creators.
Can I put Disney characters on a shirt and sell it?
If you're planning on selling Disney products or characters, you must obtain an official license from the Walt Disney Company. This means that your product must be expressly authorized by the company to be sold legally; without this authorization, you may face hefty fines and other legal consequences.
The Disney Group takes Disney trademark infringement seriously and has copyright and trademark registrations to protect its characters. Anyone who wants to use the characters from the Disney franchise must follow all legal requirements to avoid infringing on the company's intellectual property rights.
The public owns the work, not its creator, which essentially means people can do with it what they want. For example, they can write stories using the characters, they can make movies about them, they can paint pictures of them, and they can sell stuff they make using them.
Why didn t Disney renew copyright on Winnie-the-Pooh?
The characters of A. A. Milne's 1926 classic Winnie the Pooh are free to use legally without repercussion. US copyright law means that works of authors are avalable to use either 70 years after the author's death or 95 years after publication. In the case of Pooh, it is the latter.
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.
