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Mickey Mouse: Disney to lose copyright of early version of cartoon character featured in Steamboat Willie
The change means the public will only be able to use the more mischievous, rat-like, non-speaking boat captain seen in Steamboat Willie - not the more modern versions.
news.sky.com
The change means the public will only be able to use the more mischievous, rat-like, non-speaking boat captain seen in Steamboat Willie - not the more modern versions.
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Image:A scene from Steamboat Willie. Pic: Snap/Shutterstock
An early version of Mickey Mouse, one of the most iconic characters in popular culture, will no longer have copyright protection from 2024.
Members of the public will be able to use the image of Mickey and Minnie Mouse featured in their first screen release, the 1928 short film Steamboat Willie, after the copyright expires.
US law allows copyright to be held for 95 years - with Congress expanding it several times during that period.
"It's sometimes derisively referred to as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act," Jennifer Jenkins, a professor of law and director of Duke's Center for the Study of the Public Domain said.
"That's oversimplified because it wasn't just Disney that was pushing for term extension. It was a whole group of copyright holders whose works were set to go into the public domain soon, who benefited greatly from the 20 years of extra protection."
Image:A poster for Steamboat Willie. Pic: Snap/Shutterstock
Not every feature or personality trait a character displays is necessarily copyrightable, however, courts could be busy in the coming years determining what is inside and outside Disney's ownership.
Disney also holds a separate trademark on Mickey as a corporate mascot and brand identifier, and the law forbids using the character deceptively to fool consumers into thinking a product is from the original creator.
Steamboat Willie was directed by Walt Disney and his partner Ub Iwerks and was one of the first cartoons to have sound synced with its visuals.
It was the third cartoon made by Disney and Iwerks featuring Mickey and Minnie but the first to be released.
It features a more menacing Mickey captaining a boat and making musical instruments out of other animals.
Image:A modern version of Mickey Mouse at Disney World in Florida in 2003
Other properties entering the US public domain in 2024 are Charlie Chaplin's film Circus, Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando and Bertolt Brecht's musical play The Threepenny Opera.
The current copyright term passed in 1998 brought the US into closer sync with the European Union, making it unlikely Congress would extend it now.
