An early version of Disney’s Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain on January 1
An early version of Disney’s Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain on January 1
An early version of Disney’s Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain on January 1 | CNN Business
In just a few short days, an early version of Disney’s most iconic character will join the public domain for the first time.
For nearly a century, the image of Mickey Mouse has been married to the Walt Disney Company brand, but on January 1, 2024, Disney’s copyright of “Steamboat Willie,” Walt Disney’s first short film featuring Mickey Mouse, will expire.
That means that one of the company’s earliest iterations of its beloved rodent will become available for public use.
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“Steamboat Willie” premiered in 1928, helping launch Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney into the stratosphere. Since US copyright law, which was last updated by Congress in 1998, allows copyright to be held for 95 years, Disney’s sole claim to the character is about to end.
It's why they quit fighting to get copyright law changed, they won what they wanted
Been saying this for years. Now that we have hours to go, maybe people will finally believe there's no hidden plan to extend copyright yet again.
When my kid did a play in middle school “The Little Mermaid” either there was an approved videographer or none were allowed, either way parents were told if they took cell phone footage the school would be sued.
I wonder if that kind of thing should fall under educational purposes?
The Little Mermaid isn't copyrighted though...
Unless they pull Hans Christian Anderson out of his grave, I'm not sure they would have much standing to sue. The only way I could see a lawsuit is if they had exact imagery from the movie.