Will Disney Finally Let Go Of Mickey Mouse? Questions Arise As Copyright Set To Expire In 2024

In a landmark move, Disney (NYSE:DIS) is on the brink of losing its exclusive rights to its most celebrated character, Mickey Mouse.

What Happened: The 1928 “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse will transition into the public domain at the start of 2024, reported Business Insider. This historic shift comes almost a century after the character’s debut.

The existing copyright laws, heavily influenced by Disney’s lobbying, state that copyright expires after 95 years. Mickey Mouse was initially slated to lose its copyright protection in 1984, but Disney’s lobbying efforts in the 1970s and 1990s led to extensions.

This resulted in the Copyright Act of 1976 and the Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998, dubbed the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.” The 1998 law is still in effect, but no further extensions have been passed, allowing anyone to use the “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse from Jan.1, 2024.

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Disney, however, does not seem overly worried. Each time a new version of the character is created, it’s copyrighted, and all modern versions of Mickey Mouse are protected. Disney also holds trademarks on the modern version of the character.

“More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright,” Disney confirmed to the Associated Press.

Why It Matters: This development comes amid growing controversy around Disney’s copyright practices. A group of GOP lawmakers opposed Disney’s attempt to renew its copyright on Mickey Mouse, citing the company’s political and sexual agenda.

Furthermore, Tesla CEO Elon Musk also weighed in on the ongoing copyright debate surrounding Disney.

The entrance of characters into the public domain has led to creative reinterpretations, as seen with “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey,” a horror film adaptation of the beloved children’s character. This could potentially pave the way for similar reinterpretations of Mickey Mouse in the future.

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