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.
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.
All of this being said, Mickey Mouse will still exist under the Disney umbrella, just in a different way. Mickey Mouse's copyright will expire next year, but there have been so many renditions of the mouse that not everyone will apply.
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.
When his distributor appropriated the rights to the character, Disney altered Oswald's appearance and created a new character that he named Mortimer Mouse; at the urging of his wife, Disney rechristened him Mickey Mouse.
Mickey Mouse Copyright Expires in 2023 - What Happens Next?
What was Disney's first character?
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit or Oswald Rabbit or just plain Oswald) is an animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures.
Fantasmagorie is considered to be the oldest cartoon in the world. The very short animation is one of the earliest examples of traditional hand-drawn animation. It was created in 1908 by French cartoonist Émile Cohl.
What will Disney do when Mickey Mouse copyright expires?
While Steamboat Willie will soon be entering the public domain, which would open it up for fair use by virtually anyone, the Mickey Mouse copyright is still in place. Disney will maintain its control over Mickey Mouse due to trademark protection.
The reason is that copyrights have limited lifespans under federal law and copyrights for works created by corporations (like Disney) are only protected for 95 years from the date of first publication. This is why the Mickey Mouse copyright is coming to an end.
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.
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.
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.
As the company shifted to streaming, it seemed set up to lap Netflix and eat the box office at the same time. But today, Disney's stock is at a nine-year low. Operating margins are down 75 percent. Disney+ lost $4 billion last year.
The Mickey Mouse problem refers to the difficulty in predicting which supernatural agents are capable of eliciting belief and religious devotion. We approached the problem directly by asking participants to invent a “religious” or a “fictional” agent with five supernatural abilities.
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.
Can Disney keep Mickey Mouse out of 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.
On January 1, 2024, the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse will become public domain. However, don't expect to see any horror movies based on him. Anyone coming close to the trademark or the copyright of the more modern version will be shut down instantly.
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.
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)
Before Mickey Mouse, there was his predecessor: Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. For the first time, we're seeing footage of the first Disney character. The silent film in black and white dates back to 1928, when a young Walt Disney created Oswald.
What were the first words Mickey Mouse ever spoke?
Mickey's first spoken line is "Hot dogs! Hot dogs!", the voice being provided by composer Carl W. Stalling instead of Walt Disney. This would later serve as a basis for Mickey's later catchphrase "Hot dog!"
