Disney has lost its most prized possession, at least in terms of bragging rights. Disney once held the rights to Mickey Mouse, but today, the public domain welcomes the earlier version of Mickey Mouse as the copyright expires in 2023 under a 95-year duration.
Disney’s iconic characters, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, from the 1928 film “Steamboat Willie,” are now in the public domain in the US as Disney’s copyright has expired. This allows artists, including cartoonists, to freely use and rework the early, non-speaking versions of these beloved characters.
However, there is one condition.
Disney still retains the copyright for the later versions of these similar characters, and they will definitely be subjected to copyright protection.
This milestone enables legal sharing, performance, reuse, repurposing, and sampling of these works. Numerous other films, books, music, and characters from 1928 are now accessible to the American public.
Disney’s original cartoon characters, initially set to enter the public domain in 1984, had their copyright term extended by Congress for 20 years. Another 20-year extension occurred in 2004 before the characters faced potential expiration.
Previously, Winnie-the-Pooh had a similar incident with its copyright expiration. Now, it is being used to create multiple titles, such as “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” which is critically bad but managed to become a box office hit in no time.
Even as of today, one teaser has been posted about a horror game and a film featuring Mickey, and the anticipation will only grow stronger now.
