According to the Associated Press on December 14th, the representative image of Disney, Mickey Mouse, will have its copyright expired on January 1, 2024 and will enter the public domain without being protected by copyright. In theory, anyone has the right to use the image to produce goods or create works without paying any copyright fees to Disney. However, it is limited to the original Mickey Mouse design in Steamboat Willie, and subsequent revisions are still under copyright protection.
Mickey Mouse Copyright for "Unlimited Cup Renewal"
The earliest version of Mickey Mouse referred to the character of Mickey Mouse in the November 1928 film Steamship Willie.
On October 16, 1923, Walt Disney and Roy Disney founded the Disney Brothers Animation Studio. Relying on numerous deeply ingrained animation images, this studio subsequently grew into a large enterprise with 12 theme parks worldwide, selling numerous peripheral products, and a market value of 145 billion US dollars.
Steamship Willie is actually the third Mickey Mouse animation produced by Walt Disney, but it is also the first publicly screened animated short film. The whistling captain Mickey Mouse in the animated film is deeply loved by the audience. Mickey Mouse's IP immediately became popular. The first version of Mickey Mouse in 1928 had no white eyes, no gloves, and was more mischievous and like a mouse, which was different from the later versions of Mickey Mouse, who wore red shorts, white gloves, and a more rounded face.
Previously, in order to prevent the expiration of Mickey Mouse's copyright, Disney Company had lobbied Congress twice to amend US copyright laws, and both attempts were successful. Therefore, the US copyright law is also jokingly referred to as the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act".
Initially, the copyright law in the United States stipulated a copyright protection period of 56 years, but under strong lobbying from companies such as Disney, the US Congress extended the company's copyright period to 75 years after the work was released.
The second time was in 1998, when Disney once again lobbied Congress to extend the company's copyright period for 95 years from the publication of the work.
A netizen once used a joke to describe the "strongest legal department on the surface" of Disney's legal department: if you accidentally drift to a deserted island, you will draw a large Mickey Mouse pattern on the island, and Disney's lawyers will find you and send you a lawyer's letter.
Copyright expires, Disney still has trademarks
For a long time, Mickey Mouse has become the mascot of the "IP Empire" Disney Company, bringing billions of dollars in annual revenue to the company.
Disney stated in a statement that it will strive to prevent confusion among consumers due to unauthorized Mickey and other iconic cartoon characters. This may mean that Disney is ready to cooperate with trademark laws and continue to crack down on piracy.
After all, in addition to copyright protection, there is also trademark protection as a way to protect artistic images. Disney has already applied for trademarks for its artistic image in various jurisdictions, and the trademark system has a permanent and operable protection period. In theory, as long as it is renewed on time, the exclusive right to use the trademark can continue to exist.
Disney has applied for various trademarks for the Mickey Mouse image, and any appearance with a touch of Mickey can be included in the trademark.
Disney's various trademarks have actually abstracted and summarized various versions of the Mickey Mouse image. In 1928, Mickey Mouse works entered the public domain as part of the Mickey Mouse series image, which had little impact on Disney Company.
The Associated Press said that with the expiration of the initial Mickey Mouse copyright, copyright disputes related to Disney are expected to increase in the coming years.