The very first version of Mickey Mouse, featured in Walt Disney Co.’s 1928 short film “Steamboat Willie,” entered the public domain for the first time yesterday (Jan. 1).
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Because US law allows copyright to be held for just 95 years, Disney’s sole claim to the character has officially ended. And it’s not just Mickey Mouse that people can share, adapt, or remix, but all characters in “Steamboat Willie,” including the first iteration of Minnie Mouse.
However, they must be careful to not mislead anyone into thinking their reproductions are in any way associated with Disney. Plus, they can’t use any other, newer versions of the character.
“More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright, and Mickey will continue to play a leading role as a global ambassador for the Walt Disney Company in our storytelling, theme park attractions, and merchandise,” a Disney spokesperson told CNN.
The earliest version of the iconic character, which has been the entertainment giant’s mascot for the better part of the past century, looks different from the current one. The original black-and-white Mickey doesn’t wear gloves or oversized shoes, and his eyes are small ovals without pupils. Mickey Mouse donned gloves in 1929 and was colorized in 1935.
Disney’s ironic relationship with copyright law and public domain
Under the law when Disney released “Steamboat Willie,” the company was set to lose its copyright in 56 years—in 1984. But it fought hard to amend that legislation, which had last been tweaked in 1909. In 1976, US Congress extended the timeline for works copyrighted by organizations to 75 years, shielding Mickey and his costars until 2003. Then in 1998, the Copyright Extension Act added 20 years, extending protection to 95 years.
Disney had lobbied so fervently that the law was even dubbed the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.” Little has changed since then. Over the years, the company has been fiercely protective of its copyrighted assets, even turning litigious to maintain them.
But on the other hand, Disney has built much of its empire on the public domain.
“In fact, the public domain is Disney’s bread and butter,” writes Jennifer Jenkins, director of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University. “Frozen was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen. The Lion King draws from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Biblical stories, and possibly an epic poem about the founder of the Mali Empire. Fantasia’s “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” comes from a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and in other segments the Fantasia film showcases public domain classical music.