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An early version of Mickey Mouse has entered the public domain alongside Winnie the Pooh, Sherlock Holmes and Robin Hood, signaling possible legal action from companies like Disney and Warner Bros. as well as a number of new creations based on the iconic characters.
Technology manager and AI expert Marva Bailer told Fox News Digital that Mickey and other characters like King Kong and Frankenstein are now open creative assets that can be legally used or referenced without the permission of the original IP owner.
Using marketing, creative and social media tools like TikTok and AI, the average content creator or new media professional can now monetize these entertainment icons.
One such instance of using public domain characters for non-traditional entertainment purposes occurred in February 2023, when the film “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” was released in theaters.
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Vince Knight, Scott Jeffrey and Rhys Frake-Waterfield speak during the press conference for the film “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” at Alboa on January 24, 2023 in Mexico City, Mexico. ((Photo by Jaime Nogales/Medios y Media/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Although the film received mostly poor reviews, it was a financial success. The film grossed $5.2 million worldwide and was made for just $100,000, meaning it grossed more than fifty times its production budget.
The average major blockbuster typically only earns two to four times its production budget.
On January 1, a day after Disney's copyright for the earliest version of Mickey Mouse expired in the United States, the trailer for a horror film featuring a masked killer dressed as an iconic children's character was released.
revealed that other classic characters entering the public domain will also be getting the slasher treatment, including “Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare” and “Bambi: Reckoning.”
“These popular children’s characters can take on new personas that conflict with the brand without legal repercussions,” Bailer said. “Today we are seeing a trend of personalities and brands planning for the next 50 years, using digital technologies to manage their legacy for eternity.”
Nicholas Creel, an assistant professor of business law at Georgia College & State University, said different incarnations of famous characters' copyrights expire at different times.
For example, Mickey Mouse, which only entered the public domain in early 2024, is known as “Steamboat Willie.” This iteration of the character cannot speak, has a long tail, no pupils, and is drawn in black and white. Meanwhile, the version of Mickey from Fantasia, complete with his blue wizard hat, is far more well-known in modern times and won't be available to the public for another decade.
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On New Year's Day, the copyright for the earliest version of Mickey Mouse, “Steamboat Willie,” expired and entered the public domain. Steamboat Willie's expiration will not affect newer versions of the character. ((Photo illustration by Brandon Bell/Getty Images) / Getty Images)
Creel suggested that creators who move further away from Steamboat Willie and turn to later versions of Mickey Mouse are more likely to find themselves in a “difficult position” if Disney takes legal action.
He also pointed out that copyrights and trademarks vary widely and anything related to Mickey Mouse is heavily protected by Disney. Additionally, unlike copyright, trademarks can be renewed every ten years indefinitely.
“Thanks to the branding that Disney has kept up with, Disney will still have many signature symbols associated with Mickey Mouse,” Creel said. “Therefore, using the name 'Mickey Mouse' or attempting to use Disney's signature logo with his image could still cause major legal problems, depending on how aggressively Disney chooses to work to protect these intellectual property rights.”
Once an intellectual property is in the public domain, it doesn't stop the original copyright holder from using the characters, but it does mean that everyone else can now share in the creative process and potential profits.
As Copyright.gov notes, “As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the lifetime of the author plus an additional 70 years.” Prior to that date, works in the United States were 95 years old protected for a long time.
Over the years, Disney has worked hard to extend the life of copyright protection laws. Their efforts were so significant that critics and historians often refer to the latest version of the copyright law as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.”
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A sign near an entrance to Walt Disney World on May 22, 2023 in Orlando, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)
But there's a reason Disney hasn't launched a congressional campaign to influence copyright laws this time, according to Alex Beene, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Tennessee at Martin.
“Over the last 30 years, the company has created many additional revenue streams with other intellectual properties – such as Marvel superheroes and Star Wars – that still have decades to go before they enter the public domain,” he said.
While Mickey Mouse is still valuable to the company as the face of the company and the theme park, Beene says the original animated short version of the character is adding less and less to its bottom line.
“The real test of whether these current laws can remain in effect long-term may come from companies other than Disney in the coming years,” he added. “Unlike Mickey Mouse, Batman is still an active theatrical franchise that makes Warner Bros. billions, yet the character will enter the public domain in 2034. While there will be limits on what it can and cannot be used for, I could see other companies being nervous about what losing exclusivity might mean to their profits.”
Michael Risch, vice dean and professor at Villanova University's Charles Widger School of Law, said companies have likely been preparing for this eventuality for the past few decades.
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Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav speaks onstage during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront 2022 show at the Theater at Madison Square Garden on May 18, 2022 in New York City. ((Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Discovery) / Getty Images)
To that end, Disney will claim trademark infringement if a company attempts to use the now public domain character to sell a product. This legal route still needs to be tested; As Risch notes, a law restricts the use of expired copyrights as trademarks.
Risch highlighted United Air Lines' use of George Gershwin's “Rhapsody in Blue” as an example of this potential conundrum. In the 1980s, United secured the rights to the tune for an annual fee of $300,000. The song eventually became synonymous with the brand and was featured in numerous commercials.
“Does this mean another airline can use the same Gershwin tune in their commercials because it’s in the public domain? On the one hand, one would say: Sure, because it is in the public domain. Anyone can use the music and play it any time they want. On the other hand, if you're using a particular clip to sell a competing product that's unrelated to the clip, that might be a problem. And that, in my opinion, will be the next frontier,” he said.
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But Risch also said companies like Disney need to focus on creating new intellectual property to adequately mitigate lost profits.
“It's a testament to the staying power of these companies that these characters continue to make money for them long into the future. But you know, if you want to build and grow, at some point you have to do something new.” And “The companies have created something new, even if they use their own franchises,” he added.
The characters of Pluto, Donald Duck, Superman, JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit and James Bond will also enter the public domain in the next decade.