It’s a small event in the world of cartoons, Mickey Mouse, the most famous mouse in the world, enters the public domain. Cartoon copyright Willie’s boat, the first short film featuring Mickey and which dates from 1928, expires this January 1 under American law which protects rights for 95 years. But the Disney studios, which have become a global multinational in fiction and leisure parks, remind us that subsequent versions of Mickey remain protected. So we won’t be able to do anything with Mickey.
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In 1928 American children discovered Mickey Mouse, a funny whistling rodent dressed in a sailor’s outfit and holding the helm of a ship. Willie’s Steamboat is the first animated film with synchronized music and lyrics.
At the time, the success was enormous and contributed to the legend of Walt Disney.
Ninety-five years later, it is now possible for any creator to take the graphics and storyline of this seven-minute short film and transform it as they see fit.
The film is in the public domain, but the Disney group, which has become a multinational leisure company, does not intend to let anything happen with its mouse, which has become a global icon. On the one hand, Disney specifies that only the 1928 version of Mickey Mouse is copyright free.
Later versions, the one to which children are more accustomed with a rounded Mickey, white gloves and red shorts, remain protected. Furthermore, if copyright has ended, this is not the case for the rights protecting the registered trademark. And Disney, which now places a scene from Willie’s Steamboat at the opening of all its films, hopes to dissuade competitors.
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If the mouse is now free, Disney does not intend to share its cheese.