The situation makes the company complex, since the regulations would eventually be applied to other characters that have been responsible for the success and growth of Disney.
The Walt Disney Company is facing a critical moment, as by the year 2024 Mickey Mouse would become public domain and more not exclusive to the company. so reported The Guardian last Sunday, July 3.
This is a complex situation that has to do with the copyright law that applies in the United States. The latter establishes that exclusive copyrights expire after a period of time of 95 years from the creation of the character or artistic body.
For this, it is important to recount the creation of the iconic mouse, which ended up becoming the Disney mascot. And it is that Mickey Mouse was created several decades ago, in 1928, and will complete his term in 2024.
After this, it will become public domain. The regulations would eventually be applied to other characters close to their 95th birthday, especially the first ones, who were responsible for the growth and success of the brand.
What will become of Mickey Mouse?
Nevertheless, the law has some limitations that favor the company. This is how Daniel Mayeda, associate director of the UCLA School of Law’s Documentary Film Legal Clinic and a media and entertainment lawyer, explains it to The Guardian.
On the one hand, he pointed out that once the character is public, it can be used freely for other creations that do not have to do with Disney. “You may use the Mickey Mouse character as originally created for your own Mickey Mouse stories or stories featuring this character.”
This would only be possible if an explicit reference to the brand is not being made, which could be complicated in the case of Mickey. “But if you do it in a way that makes people think of Disney, which is likely because they’ve been invested in this character for so long, Disney could say you violated its trademark”, he assured.
This would not be the first major Disney character to enter the public domain. Previously, the same thing happened to Winnie the Pooh and the rest of his companions, which brought unexpected productions. like the next Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honeya horror film in which Pooh and Piglet are shown to be somewhat gloomy.