Disney’s iconic character, now in the public domain
UNBOUND
WHEN WALT DISNEY FIRST RELEASED THE CARTOON SHORT FILM Steamboat Willie in November 1928, it was groundbreaking. One of the first cartoons to use synchronized sound, it would go on to become among the most critically acclaimed and popular cartoon films in the world.
But perhaps most famously, the cartoon introduced the world to Mickey Mouse, the face and ears of a company now valued at $167 billion. The Walt Disney Co. has fought to keep its copyright of the cartoon character as long as possible, lobbying the U.S. government to extend copyright protection before it was originally set to expire in 1984. Many lawmakers agreed, and in 1976 the law was changed to allow owners to retain copyright protections for the duration of the life of the author, plus an additional 50 years. In 1998, Disney once again successfully lobbied along with other entertainment companies to extend copyright protections to the life of the author plus 70 years, for a maximum of 95 years.
However, in January 2024, the copyright on Steamboat Willie officially expired, and Mickey Mouse finds himself in the public domain. This means that anyone in the U.S. can use the Steamboat Willie version of the Mickey Mouse character without fear of copyright infringement.
For a sense of what that means, a trailer for a Mickey Mouse horror film was released at the start of the new year, while others have edited the footage from Steamboat Willie to make it sound as if Mickey is using profanity.
The later Mickeys are still the exclusive property of Disney, however, including the signature image of the mouse in red shorts, oversize shoes, and iconic white gloves.
“We will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of
