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Disney may soon lose exclusive rights to its most famous cartoon character as Mickey Mouse’s 95-year copyright expires in two years.
Mickey will be in the public domain in 2024 under the United States copyright law, which states that intellectual property in artistic works expires 95 years after initial publication.
Mickey Mouse first appeared in the 1920s and became both a symbol for the Disney media company and one of the most well-known cartoon characters.
When he first appeared in 1928, Disney’s copyright was protected for 56 years, but as the beloved cartoon character neared the end of its copyright, Disney successfully lobbied the 1976 Copyright Act, which extended protection to 75 years.
And then, in 1998, Disney lobbied for another extension, granting him protection for 95 years.
It’s unclear if the entertainment giant plans to take another step before 2023 to prevent Mickey from entering the public domain. DailyMail.com has requested comment.
Disney may soon lose exclusive rights to its most famous cartoon character as Mickey Mouse’s 95-year copyright expires in two years. Mickey Mouse is pictured with Walt Disney in 1928
Mickey will be available in the public domain in 2024, under US copyright laws that state that intellectual property in artistic works expires after 95 years
A room in the exhibit called Sorcerer’s Way features the classic 1940 film “Fantasia” and a still from the film is shown above. In the feature-length film set to classical music, Mickey plays while the magician is gone
Once the copyright has expired, anyone who wants to use characters or concepts of everyone’s favorite rodent doesn’t have to seek permission or pay copyright fees.
That means creatives could make Mickey the focus of non-Disney stories.
The character could follow in the footsteps of Winnie the Pooh, which recently entered the public domain after its copyright expired in January.
Since then, the child character has been portrayed as a serial killer in the horror film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Horror.
Associate director of the Film Legal Clinic at UCLA School of Law, Daniel Mayeda, told The Guardian that people will be allowed to develop new storylines for Mickey, but could still face copyright claims if they follow the original Disney are too similar.
“You can use the Mickey Mouse character as originally created to create your own Mickey Mouse stories or stories featuring this character,” Mayeda told the outlet.
“But if you do this in a way that makes people think of Disney — which is quite likely because they’ve invested in this character for so long — then Disney could theoretically say you’ve infringed my copyright.”
The iconic Mickey has its origins in a cartoon called Hungry Hobos that was created in 1928 and wasn’t found until 2011.
The Disney cartoon featured a character who was the prototype of Mickey Mouse and was later discovered in a UK film archive.
The black and white footage shows Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and was drawn just before the character was abandoned and transformed into Mickey Mouse that same year.
Mickey, as he is currently known, made his film debut first “Steamboat Willie” premiered on November 18, 1928 at what was then the Colony Theater on Broadway.
One of the first animated films to feature synchronized sound and music, the film made Mickey a star.
He has appeared in over 130 films alongside his girlfriend Minnie Mouse, dog Pluto and his friends Donald Duck and Goofy, among others.
Mickey’s copyright expiration follows Winnie the Pooh’s in January.
Winnie fans then reacted with horror after discovering in May that Jagged Edge Productions would be giving AA Milne’s loveable characters a dark twist.
The production company announced an adaptation of the world-famous children’s classic into a horror film in which Pooh and Piglet become sick serial killers.
Fans said they were “devastated” by the decision and wanted Winnie the Pooh to remain “sacred” forever.
The movie “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” has been described by IMDB as a horror film that shows Pooh and Piglet going on a rampage after Christopher Robin abandons them.
Blood and Honey is based on family favorite Winnie the Pooh, a series of stories by AA Milne
Winnie the Pooh may have his familiar yellow head and red shirt, but that’s where the similarities end
Shortly after Milne’s death in 1956, his widow sold the rights to Winnie the Pooh to Stephen Slesinger, who later sold them to the Walt Disney Company
Forced to live alone, the two turn to a life of crime and carnage and become wild beasts.
Shortly after Milne’s death in 1956, his widow sold the rights to Winnie the Pooh to Stephen Slesinger, who later sold them to the Walt Disney Company.
The rights were split between Milne’s widow and three other organizations, who all sold their rights to Disney in 2001.
Although the rights to the original Winnie the Pooh characters have now expired, Disney still owns the copyright to its own version of the bear and all related films and images.
