One of the star characters of Disney is undoubtedly Mickey Mouse. The mouse, which has been a key player in the development of the Walt Disney Company, is not only the face of the brand, but also the protagonist of several feature films and specials.
But the situation is about to change for the entertainment company as a result of US copyright law.
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Why Disney could lose the rights to Mickey Mouse
According to The Guardian, the rule of rights of a character expires after 95 years of publication original or registered before 1978. Under this law, Disney could lose Mickey Mouse license in 2024as the character first appeared in a 1928 movie called “Steamboat Willie.”
Will Disney be able to keep Mickey Mouse?
The brand has one chance left: for the copyright law to change. The only obstacle he has is Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, who introduced an initiative last May known as the Copyright Clause Restoration Act of 2022, which limits the duration of copyright to 56 years. If this is not changed, the short film and the Mickey from that version will become public domain.
As The Guardian reports, Daniel Mayeda, associate director at UCLA, shared that Disney has options to protect the character from actions that unduly tarnish or profit from him.
“Copyright law covers the version that goes into the public domain, so in this case it would be Mickey Mouse in black and white, not later versions. If someone uses it in a way that makes people think of Disney, which is quite likely, then in theory the company could say that their copyright has been infringed., he explained.
In this way, the Mickey Mouse case could, of course, have the same fate as Winnie the Pooh, who in January 2022 entered the public domain with unpredictable and somewhat shocking results.
Following the announcement, it was shared that Pooh and his friend Piglet will star in “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, a horror film in which they both embark on a crime and carry out murders.
How old is Mickey Mouse?
Mickey Mouse is currently 93 years old from the day of his creation.
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