In less than two years, Disney will be entering uncharted territory when itcomes to copyrighting certain characters. The rights that allow Disney toprotect its famous characters then begin to expire. The first figure to whichthis applies is the primal version of Mickey Mouse from the short film’Steamboat Willie’ from 1928, the predecessor of the current Mickey Mouse.That writes The New York Times.
“We will continue to make every effort to avoid consumer confusion due to> the unauthorized use of Mickey, or any other iconic character.”
The Disney group is known for being very strict when its characters are usedwithout permission. In the past, for example, lawsuits were filed against adaycare center in Florida that had put a drawing of Minnie Mouse on the front.In 2006, the company intervened when the image of Winnie the Pooh was placedon a gravestone of a child.
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In the article, experts wonder what exactly Disney can do if these charactersbecome part of the public domain and how the company will react. The ‘early’version of Mickey Mouse can now be used without Disney’s permission if thecopyright expires at the end of 2024. In the course of the following decades,this will also apply to other iconic characters of the group.
However, Disney does retain the trademark on the specific imagination ofcertain characters. This ‘trademark’ was actually created to protectconsumers, so that they know that a certain characteristic symbol or imagethat is very specifically associated with a brand is of high quality. Forexample, the ears of Mickey Mouse fall under this legislation. Disney has themouse out Steamboat Willie , so the ‘primal Mickey’, added to the logo forall its cinema films since 2007. This has made the connection with the companyof this particular image stronger from a legal point of view.
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The company said in a brief statement to the New York Times that “the Mickeyfrom Steamboat Willie is inextricably linked to our company, and that willnot change if the copyright expires in the future.” Disney pledges to”continue to make every effort to avoid consumer confusion due to unauthorizeduse of Mickey, or any other iconic character.”
Over the years, US copyright law has changed a number of times. With the lastadjustment in 1998, the copyright period was extended from 75 to 95 years. Itis still unclear whether Disney will try to have the law changed, as thecompany has done in the past. In that case, Mickey Mouse could perhaps beprotected longer against a possible takeover in the public domain.
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Not only Disney suffers from these kinds of problems. For example, the rightsof the children’s book recently expired Winnie the Pooh by AA Milne. Thisinspired a young filmmaker to create a horror version of the cuddly littlebear, Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey. This will be released later this