Disney Releases Beloved ‘Steamboat’ Mickey Mouse into Public Domain After 95 Years of Control

A version of Disney’s iconic Mickey Mouse – once a leading villain in the US copyright debate – has officially entered the public domain after 95 long years. Moving forward, anyone can reuse or reference the black and white Mickey and Minnie Mouse that appeared in 1928 films Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy without fears of legal reprisals from Disney. The highly awaited expiration date marks an important moment for public domain advocates, who’ve long associated the goofy mouse with corporate efforts to extend the shelf-life of copyrighted works.

What is public domain and why is Mickey entering it?

Copyright laws are intended to protect the intellectual property (IP) created by individuals or businesses for a certain amount of time. These protections cover a wide variety of IP, from movies and music to books and creative characters like Mickey and are critical to ensuring creators can profit off their work. In the US, copyright protections generally expire 70 years after an author’s death or 95 years after publication. 

Once expired, those works enter the public domain, where they can largely be used freely without requiring permission from the original author. Public domain advocates say reasonable copyright expiration dates are necessary to ensure the public has the opportunity to advance culture and archive significant works for the historical records. J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, Sherlock Holmes, and Winnie the Pooh are just a few examples of copyrighted works or famous characters that have entered the public domain in recent years. 

The January 1, 2024 expiration means creators can basically do anything they want with Mickey, within reason. Mickey fans, for example, could use the mouse’s likeness in videos, stories, or even plastered on t-shirts. Mickey Mouse inspired slasher movies and horror video games are already reportedly in the works. 

But there are some important exceptions. First, the copyright expiration only applies to the Mickey from 1928, which means the white gloved, bubbly-peyed Mickey most commonly associated with the Disney mouse is still protected under copyright. Creators also can’t use Mickey to create content that could mislead the public into believing their creation is endorsed by Disney. 

Disney has a reputation for aggressively pursuing legal actions against people who violate their copyright and trademarks. Three daycare centers in Florida famously found themselves on the wrong end of a Disney legal threat in 1989 after they reportedly plastered images of Mickey, Minnie, and Donald Duck on their walls.

 “If we were to allow them to use the characters, then we would have to allow everyone else to do so,” Disney spokesperson Chuck Champlin said at the time according to the Chicago Tribune. ”If we don’t protect our trademarks, we could lose our copyright and be out of business.”

Disney’s role in extending copyright 
This week’s public domain inductees were a long time coming for many copyright critics,  » …
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