Disney Will Lose the Rights to Mickey Mouse in 2024

[Dead2009]

https://**************.net/2021/08/disney-lose-rights-mickey-mouse-ad1/
When you think of Disney, there are a few iconic images that may come to mind. Perhaps a castle, maybe a favorite princess, but one thing that is universally known as Disney is Mickey Mouse.

From the days of Steamboat Willie, Walt’s debut of his little pay, Mickey Mouse, has been the mascot of Disney. Now it seems that Disney is risk of losing the rights to the character! According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The copyright for Walt Disney’s 1928 cartoon Steamboat Willie — which introduced the world to Mickey Mouse — is set to expire and enter the public domain in three years.” The rights would include the Mickey Mouse that we saw in the film, which is different from other iterations of the character as time progressed.

The Hollywood Reporter went on to explain how Disney avoid this happening earlier. Disney successfully lobbied Congress to lengthen the number of years that copyrights can be held in 1988. The law ended up being called the Copyright Term Extension Act but has also received the name “the Mickey Mouse Protection Act.” However, in three years, the rights to Mickey Mouse will end, and Mickey will be up for grabs.

It seems “Disney’s legal team might succeed in keeping Walt Disney’s famous character and Mouse House mascot from becoming rights-free,” just as others have done with Dracula or Sherlock Holmes. If not, however, another company is already ready to “eat [Disney] alive.”

The Hollywood Reporter announced:

MSCHF has launched the “X Famous Mouse.” The company’s ad copy doesn’t call the token “Mickey Mouse” or use its exact imagery – for now – but it’s a placeholder for the iconic character and comes with a unique ticking clock. The idea is you pay for the nondescript mouse-like token today (cost: $100 for one of the 1,000 copies available) and then you receive a physical collectible token for the character that’s redeemable in 2024 – when Disney’s copyright on Mickey Mouse is set to expire. At that time, you’ll receive the real deal.

MSCHF CEO Gabe Whaley is clearly not a fan of Disney as he stated, “Disney is a massive all-swallowing conglomerate, with a desire for both industry dominance and cultural hegemony. It is ever-growing, all-encompassing, risk-averse, and society-blandening. We must leap at the chance to take back even the scant morsels available to us. At the slightest chance, we must eat them alive.” If Disney does gain the rights to Mickey Mouse, his tokens would likely be void.

The idea of creating the coin while Disney still owns the rights may not have been the best move on Whaley’s part. A copyright attorney James Sammataro discussed the situation, and it seems that Disney could have legal grounds to sue MSCHF.

“It’s difficult to foresee a scenario where [art] of a not-yet-in-the-public-domain work would not give rise to a prospective claim. Disney can credibly argue that the inchoate license devalues the current value of its licensing rights by diverting up would-be licensees.”

It should be noted that even if Disney were to lose the trademark to the original Mickey Mouse, Disney would still own copyrights for later incarnations of the character and Mickey-related trademarks.

 

[BrianL]

This comes up every so often, and teh key is the difference between copyright and trademark. While the expiration of the copyright would allow other companies to reproduce the work or derive from it specifically, they would not be able to market "Mickey Mouse" or any Disney trademarks. Of course, Disney wants to protect those copyrights as much as possible, but it's not like they would "lose" Mickey Mouse or anything.

 

[chasgeese]

This comes up every so often, and teh key is the difference between copyright and trademark. While the expiration of the copyright would allow other companies to reproduce the work or derive from it specifically, they would not be able to market "Mickey Mouse" or any Disney trademarks. Of course, Disney wants to protect those copyrights as much as possible, but it's not like they would "lose" Mickey Mouse or anything.

Yeah the copyright issue won’t be a big deal for Disney until it comes time for things like Snow White to be public domain. Trademark law still prevents anyone from pretending to be selling authorized Disney march or using Disney imagery commercially without Disney’s permission.

 

[bcla]

Yeah the copyright issue won’t be a big deal for Disney until it comes time for things like Snow White to be public domain. Trademark law still prevents anyone from pretending to be selling authorized Disney march or using Disney imagery commercially without Disney’s permission.

Snow White is public domain. Disney's representation is trademarked.

It's going to be interesting when Disney's representation loses its copyright protection after 2030.

 

[RamblingMad]

The shipping of Mickey Mouse has already begun. I leave it to you to Google and be shocked.

 

[Pooh's World]

Karma. You would think they would want to do everything possible to keep their most loyal supporters happy but instead they treat us like trash and try to squeeze every cent out of us. This will be remembered when they lose their IP.

 

[supernova]

Karma. You would think they would want to do everything possible to keep their most loyal supporters happy but instead they treat us like trash and try to squeeze every cent out of us. This will be remembered when they lose their IP.

First half true, second half false. Disney is not going to lose Mickey in 2024. The original post was speculation. But they're not going to lose the character to public domain, obviously.

 

[Pooh's World]

First half true, second half false. Disney is not going to lose Mickey in 2024. The original post was speculation. But they're not going to lose the character to public domain, obviously.

Actually it's more like 2030/2036 for the Mickey we all know.

Winnie the Pooh protection expires this year.
Steamboat Willie Mickey in 2024.

Pooh will be a good gauge of what happens when they lose the IP protection for their properties.

https://local12.com/news/entertainm...y-mouse-children-family-media-cincinnati-ohio

 

[longboard55]

China would be super happy if they let the trademark go. My guess is smarter minds prevail. Why would the USA give something away and get nothing in return.

 

[RamblingMad]

The original steamboat version would go into public domain, not the latest iteration.

 

[BrianL]

China would be super happy if they let the trademark go. My guess is smarter minds prevail. Why would the USA give something away and get nothing in return.

This would not affect the trademark, only the copyright. Disney will still own Mickey Mouse, it's just that certain works will be in the public domain to be freely copied or original derivative work created and sold. They could not however use any trademarked elements.

China doesn't much care about copyright and trademark laws from other countries anyway, so it wouldn't change much in that regard.

 

[longboard55]

You can not sell Mickey Mouse merchandise in the US without a license from Disney even though most of the merchandise is made in China. So we are just going to give that away. Why?

 

[BrianL]

You can not sell Mickey Mouse merchandise in the US without a license from Disney even though most of the merchandise is made in China. So we are just going to give that away. Why?

The expiration of the copyright wouldn't necessarily allow anyone to sell Mickey Mouse merchandise. They would though be able to copy the original works or create something derivative. So, for example, they could sell a DVD with Steamboat Willie and other early Mickey Mouse cartoons, however they likely could not title it "Mickey Mouse" because that is trademarked. They would likely call it something like "101 Classic Cartoons." The same would be true of any merchandise. They could make a figurine that looks like Mickey from Steamboat Willie, but would be careful what they call it. It could be referred to as Mickey Mouse, sans any trademarked logo, etc. The market for such things is extremely narrow and will not be worth the effort for the most part to even be made.

 

[Pooh's World]

China would be super happy if they let the trademark go. My guess is smarter minds prevail. Why would the USA give something away and get nothing in return.

Cause that's how copyright and patent work. You don't get to monopolize it forever.

 

[Pooh's World]

The original steamboat version would go into public domain, not the latest iteration.

the Mickey we know will go into the public domain around 2034 or something. So not that far off.

 

[Pooh's World]

The expiration of the copyright wouldn't necessarily allow anyone to sell Mickey Mouse merchandise. They would though be able to copy the original works or create something derivative. So, for example, they could sell a DVD with Steamboat Willie and other early Mickey Mouse cartoons, however they likely could not title it "Mickey Mouse" because that is trademarked. They would likely call it something like "101 Classic Cartoons." The same would be true of any merchandise. They could make a figurine that looks like Mickey from Steamboat Willie, but would be careful what they call it. It could be referred to as Mickey Mouse, sans any trademarked logo, etc. The market for such things is extremely narrow and will not be worth the effort for the most part to even be made.

I think it probably would. If you look at the Charade debacle:

Public-domain status[edit]​

Grant and Hepburn
The film includes a notice reading "MCMLXIII BY UNIVERSAL PICTURES COMPANY, INC. and STANLEY DONEN FILMS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED" but omitting the word "Copyright", "Copr." or the symbol "©". Before 1978, American law required works to include the word, abbreviation or symbol in order to be copyrighted.[16][17][18] Because Universal failed to properly display the copyright notice, the film entered into the public domain in the United States immediately upon its release.[19] As a result, copies from film prints of varying quality have been widely available on VHS, DVD and Blu-ray. The film is also available for free download at the Internet Archive.[20] However, while the film itself is in the public domain, the original music remains under copyright if outside the context of the film.[21] The film remains fully protected by copyright outside the U.S.[citation needed][clarification needed]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charade_(1963_film)#Public-domain_status

 

[RamblingMad]

the Mickey we know will go into the public domain around 2034 or something. So not that far off.

Which is long over due.