Nearly a century after his arrival on screens, the famous Mickey Mouse enters the public domain on Monday, paving the way for possible revivals, adaptations and derivative products, as well as legal battles with Disney.
The copyright for the animated film Steamboat Willie, a 1928 black-and-white short film that introduced the general public to the rodent that became an icon of global popular culture, expires on January 1 after 95 years under American law.
A deadline well known to filmmakers, admirers, lawyers specializing in intellectual property and even the bosses of the Disney group, who in the past have managed to extend the duration of these copyrights.
“It's a deeply symbolic and highly anticipated moment,” says Jennifer Jenkins, a public domain specialist at Duke University in North Carolina.
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Anyone can now freely copy, share or adapt Willie, the Steamboat and Plane Crazy – another animated short film from 1928 – as well as use the first versions of the characters featured there, including Mickey and his companion Minnie.
Artists thus have the right, for example, to create a version to raise awareness of climate change, of Willie the steamboat in which the ship runs aground at the bottom of a dry river, or even a feminist version of Minnie would take the helm Jennifer Jenkins suggests.
This would be reminiscent of recent revivals of the characters Sherlock Holmes and Winnie the Pooh, whose copyrights recently expired. However, to achieve this, creators must proceed with caution.
Newer versions of Mickey are still protected
In a press release to AFP, the multinational Disney group assured that it would continue to protect [ses] Rights to newer versions of Mickey and other works remain copyrighted.
Later versions of the characters, including those appearing in the 1940 animated film Fantasia, remain outside the public domain and cannot be copied without Disney's permission.
What's in the public domain is this kind of creepy little animal in black and white, says Justin Hughes, a law professor at Loyola University.
The Mickey Mouse, best known to today's generations of Americans, remains under copyright, he continues, anticipating that this will lead to legal disputes.
The character appearing in these first cartoons is a thready and mischievous creature, far removed from the current appearance of the mascot.
Formal notices could be sent to people who dare to use newer elements of the character, such as his red shorts or his white gloves, the researcher predicts.
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A newer version of Mickey in the comic Mickey Mouse: Café Zombo (2016) by Régis Loisel
Photo: Facebook / Éditions Glénat BD / Régis Loisel
Registered trademark rights, renewable indefinitely
Additionally, if copyright ends on January 1st, this does not apply to those protecting the registered trademark.
The former prohibit the unlicensed reproduction of the creative work and expire after a certain period of time. The latter protects the source of the work from products that could lead consumers to believe that they come from the person or company that originally created them. These rights may be extended indefinitely.
The Disney Group has assured that it is working to put safeguards in place to avoid consumer confusion related to unauthorized use of Mickey or other iconic characters.
The company also added a scene from “Steamboat Willie” to the opening of all animated films produced by its studios. “They were very smart at Disney: they realized that it was best to turn this iconic scene into a registered trademark,” notes Justin Hughes.
Anyone who uses this image of Mickey at the helm of the ship for commercial purposes will therefore face legal consequences.
Other specialists, such as Jennifer Jenkins, are more optimistic about the potential uses associated with the public domain. Our Supreme Court made it clear that it was not possible to use trademark rights to circumvent copyright expiration, she recalls.
However, many people anticipate future litigation. Anyone planning to use the Disney mascot commercially should proceed with caution and hire a lawyer, summarizes Justin Hugues.