An early version of Disney’s Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain on January 1 | CNN Business
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For nearly a century, the image of Mickey Mouse has been married to Disney’s brand, but in 2024, the copyright of Disney’s first film featuring Mickey will expire.

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.

  • SeaJ
    1·
    6 months ago

    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.

    • skydivekingair@lemmy.world
      2·
      6 months ago

      Maybe it wasn’t the little mermaid? Or they were using the names. It was awhile ago, what stuck with me is we weren’t allowed to record the performance for that reason. Maybe I’d remember the play better if I had a video of it lol.

      • SeaJ
        2·
        6 months ago

        Haha

        It could also very possibly be an overzealous administration who didn’t want to deal with any possible issues. They maybe knew of the Disney version but we’re not aware that most of Disney’s biggest movies are from pre-copyright stories.