4 ms·

Is Mickey Mouse in public domain yet?

by ab_testing 6y ago

p49k 6y ago
Mickey Mouse (specifically Steamboat Willie) will be in the public domain on Jan 1, 2024.
- grawprog 6y ago
  So, I guess we can expect a new extension on copyright terms in the next 3 years.
- darig 6y ago
  Wanna bet?
- otagekki 6y ago
  That, unless Disney lobbies for copyright to be extended to 120 years.
  - mhh__ 6y ago
    Does Disney even use Mickey mouse anymore? I could see them wanting to control the brand to stop those torture porn for kids videos on YouTube
    - Sevrene 6y ago
      Mickey Mouse is massive. Mickey has been the face of Disney and is sold on and in many products each year. Kids know who he is and adults know who he is. He does seem antiquated now, especially to older adults but I don't see them getting rid of him anytime soon. Disney doesn't have many characters with that much lasting appeal between age demographics, it links the older generation of Disney with the new.
      - ksaj 6y ago
        The version of Mickey Mouse that would become public domain in 2024 bears very little visual similarity to subsequent versions. Still recognizable, but definitely not the same. Only the initial works from that year will be public domain. You won't be able to recreate Disneyland with this public domain entrance.
    - acwan93 6y ago
      Disney has been removing its focus on Mickey Mouse over the years as (I speculate) it knows at some point the mouse will be part of public domain, so it's been going on an IP shopping spree for most of the 2010s. Mickey is still huge as the peer comment states. Mickey shaped beignets, Mickey hats, Mickey costumes, etc. Just that everything else grew up to have as much, if not more, brand equity than Mickey.
      - Exmoor 6y ago
        Works featuring Mickey will be public domain, but they'll still have the trademark so it's not like everyone will suddenly be able to sell your own Mickey Mouse merchandise.
      - pfranz 6y ago
        I can't remember the source (maybe just a pet theory) but I believe Disney stopped using Mickey because there was so much contention over "Mickey would never do that" among fans so he just became a mascot instead of having him be a character in a story...probably in the 80s-90s. Near the 2000s the recognizably of Mickey started dropping with young kids so they've put him in more stuff. He started "hosting" things like Mickey's Clubhouse, put him in games like Epic Mickey and Kingdom Hearts, they had a retro redesign about 10 years ago and have used him in a bunch of new stuff including a few theme park rides.
      - Tarsul 6y ago
        naa, the reason mickey is not as public as he was when he came out is because he became boring and he was overtaken by donald etc. I've followed the game devolopement of Epic Mickey where Warren Specter (producer/director, also of deus ex-fame) had a lot to say about the history of mickey and his take was that in the beginning Mickey was very mischievous but somehow that changed over the years and he basically became boring and all the interesting traits - in the sense of storytelling or character development - where found in other characters (and once mickey had found his boring persona, writers weren't quite allowed to give him back his mischievousness). Mickey became nothing more than an icon.
    - pfranz 6y ago
      Disney Animation uses a Steamboat Willie clip as their logo. It's at the front of all of their movies. Technically, its branding and completely separate from copyright.
- chrisco255 6y ago
  Does this mean that the Steamboat Willie depiction of Mickey can be used in the public domain? Or just that the movie is free to distribute after that time?
  - fao_ 6y ago
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain
  - mromanuk 6y ago
    This article explains it thoroughly, Mickey Mouse is protected by copyright, but it also is protected by trademark, which doesn’t has a time limit. There is a comparison with a Peter Rabbit, which entered public domain in 1979 and Zorro. The corporation that owns the brand, successfully used trademark law to stop a third party. https://www.gandb.com/2019/08/steamboat-willie-mickey-mouse-copyrights-and-trademark-protection-part-iii-of-iii/ https://www.gandb.com/2019/08/steamboat-willie-mickey-mouse-...
    - fao_ 6y ago
      Ah, so yet another comment that could have been avoiding by reading the article and not just the headline? :) Remember when hacker news had people on it who did such things :) Because I don't :)
randyrand 6y ago
Is Mickey Mouse a copyright? I always figure it was a trademark. Its used as a logo.

Is Mickey Mouse in public domain yet?

p49k 6y ago

Mickey Mouse (specifically Steamboat Willie) will be in the public domain on Jan 1, 2024.

grawprog 6y ago
So, I guess we can expect a new extension on copyright terms in the next 3 years.
darig 6y ago
Wanna bet?
otagekki 6y ago
That, unless Disney lobbies for copyright to be extended to 120 years.
- mhh__ 6y ago
  Does Disney even use Mickey mouse anymore? I could see them wanting to control the brand to stop those torture porn for kids videos on YouTube
  - Sevrene 6y ago
    Mickey Mouse is massive. Mickey has been the face of Disney and is sold on and in many products each year. Kids know who he is and adults know who he is. He does seem antiquated now, especially to older adults but I don't see them getting rid of him anytime soon. Disney doesn't have many characters with that much lasting appeal between age demographics, it links the older generation of Disney with the new.
    - ksaj 6y ago
      The version of Mickey Mouse that would become public domain in 2024 bears very little visual similarity to subsequent versions. Still recognizable, but definitely not the same. Only the initial works from that year will be public domain. You won't be able to recreate Disneyland with this public domain entrance.
  - acwan93 6y ago
    Disney has been removing its focus on Mickey Mouse over the years as (I speculate) it knows at some point the mouse will be part of public domain, so it's been going on an IP shopping spree for most of the 2010s. Mickey is still huge as the peer comment states. Mickey shaped beignets, Mickey hats, Mickey costumes, etc. Just that everything else grew up to have as much, if not more, brand equity than Mickey.
    - Exmoor 6y ago
      Works featuring Mickey will be public domain, but they'll still have the trademark so it's not like everyone will suddenly be able to sell your own Mickey Mouse merchandise.
    - pfranz 6y ago
      I can't remember the source (maybe just a pet theory) but I believe Disney stopped using Mickey because there was so much contention over "Mickey would never do that" among fans so he just became a mascot instead of having him be a character in a story...probably in the 80s-90s. Near the 2000s the recognizably of Mickey started dropping with young kids so they've put him in more stuff. He started "hosting" things like Mickey's Clubhouse, put him in games like Epic Mickey and Kingdom Hearts, they had a retro redesign about 10 years ago and have used him in a bunch of new stuff including a few theme park rides.
    - Tarsul 6y ago
      naa, the reason mickey is not as public as he was when he came out is because he became boring and he was overtaken by donald etc. I've followed the game devolopement of Epic Mickey where Warren Specter (producer/director, also of deus ex-fame) had a lot to say about the history of mickey and his take was that in the beginning Mickey was very mischievous but somehow that changed over the years and he basically became boring and all the interesting traits - in the sense of storytelling or character development - where found in other characters (and once mickey had found his boring persona, writers weren't quite allowed to give him back his mischievousness). Mickey became nothing more than an icon.
  - pfranz 6y ago
    Disney Animation uses a Steamboat Willie clip as their logo. It's at the front of all of their movies. Technically, its branding and completely separate from copyright.
chrisco255 6y ago
Does this mean that the Steamboat Willie depiction of Mickey can be used in the public domain? Or just that the movie is free to distribute after that time?
- fao_ 6y ago
  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain
- mromanuk 6y ago
  This article explains it thoroughly, Mickey Mouse is protected by copyright, but it also is protected by trademark, which doesn’t has a time limit. There is a comparison with a Peter Rabbit, which entered public domain in 1979 and Zorro. The corporation that owns the brand, successfully used trademark law to stop a third party. https://www.gandb.com/2019/08/steamboat-willie-mickey-mouse-copyrights-and-trademark-protection-part-iii-of-iii/ https://www.gandb.com/2019/08/steamboat-willie-mickey-mouse-...
  - fao_ 6y ago
    Ah, so yet another comment that could have been avoiding by reading the article and not just the headline? :) Remember when hacker news had people on it who did such things :) Because I don't :)

randyrand 6y ago

Is Mickey Mouse a copyright? I always figure it was a trademark. Its used as a logo.