The first released version of Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain but not all of the variants of the mouse are free to use.
When the calendar changed from 2023 to 2024, the Mickey Mouse known as “Steamboat Willie” was among a group of characters, films and books that are no longer protected as intellectual property.
The ship-wheel spinning, tune-whistling, Ub Iwerks-drawn version of Mickey was the first on-screen appearance of the mouse that Walt Disney built his company on, however, it was not the first Mickey Mouse cartoon produced. That honor goes to “Plane Crazy.”
The Walt Disney Company was created in 1923, but Mickey didn’t come on the scene until 1928, making Mickey 95 years old in 2023.
It’s taken so long for “Steamboat Willie” Mickey to enter the public domain because of an update to the copyright laws about 25 years ago. Dubbed the “Mickey Mouse Act,” the law that governed copyright was extended in 1997, allowing copyright to be extended for 95 years.
Still, don’t expect to see every type of Mickey Mouse slapped on products not made or licensed by the Disney company.
A spokesperson told CNN, “More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright, and Mickey will continue to play a leading role as a global ambassador for the Walt Disney Company in our storytelling, theme park attractions, and merchandise.”
Harvard Law School professor Rebecca Tushnet, said that artists “really have to be making new stuff and be sure you are basing it on Steamboat Willie,” CNN reported.
There is also a bit of gray area concerning “Steamboat Willie.”
NPR reported that while the copyright protection has expired, Mickey Mouse is also trademarked, meaning he is the face of The Walt Disney Company.
“And of course, trademark law has no end,” Ruth Okediji, Harvard Law professor said. “As long as the mark remains distinctive in the supply of goods and services, the owner of the trademark gets to protect that trademark.”
Duke Law summed it up this way:
- Under trademark, “You cannot use Mickey in a way that misleads consumers into thinking your work is produced or sponsored by Disney.”
- Under new copyrights: “You cannot use new, copyrightable versions of Mickey until those copyrights expire.”
- Under public domain: “You are free to copy, share, and build on Mickey Mouse 1.0!”
So yes, even under trademark, the “Steamboat Willie” version can still be used because “Trademark law does not prevent you from using the 1928 Mickey character unless consumers will be misled into thinking your work is produced or sponsored by Disney,” according to Duke Law.
Still, there has been a push from some who want the copyright laws loosened so works don’t get lost to time.
Cory Doctorow advocates for the release of artistic works to be released to the public domain.
“The fact that there are works that are still recognizable and enduring after 95 years is frankly remarkable,” Doctorow said. “And it makes you think about the stuff that we must have lost, that would still have currency.”
Paul Heald, a University of Illinois College of Law Professor, explained that the U.S. is more strict than other regions when it comes to copyright, meaning that works that are in the public domain in areas such as Europe are still protected in America.
“Animal Farm” and “1984″ are in the public domain in Great Britain but are still under copyright in the U.S.
“Those works aren’t going to fall into the public domain in the United States for 25 years,” Heald told the AP. “It would be literally costless for Congress to pass a law saying, ‘We now adopt the rule of the shorter term,’ which would throw a butt ton of works into the public domain over here.”
In addition to “Steamboat Willie” Mickey Mouse, the following characters, plays and movies are among those that entered the public domain in 2024, according to CBS News:
- Tigger, whose first appearance in “The House at Pooh Corner” expired on Monday.
- “Peter Pan,” the play by J. M. Barrie.
- “The Mystery of the Blue Train,” a novel by Agatha Christie.
- “The Circus,” a silent film starring and directed by Charlie Chaplin.
- “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” a novel written by D.H. Lawrence.
- “Orlando: A Biography,” a novel written by Virginia Woolf.
- “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love,” music and lyrics written by Cole Porter.
The following works will be in the public domain starting in 2025:
- Popeye the Sailor Man character.
- “The Treachery of Images, a painting by René Magritte
- “The Cocoanauts,” the first Marx Brothers film.
- “All Quiet on the Western Front” first English translation.
To see if a work is part of the public domain, visit the University of Pennsylvania’s catalog of U.S. copyright entries.
