Mickey Mouse Finally in the hands of the public, they can do whatever they want to him. Well, partially.back disney infamously helped delay the moment, today is the day Steamboat WillieThe first Disney animated short featuring Mickey and Minnie enters the public domain. But what does this mean? A lot and not a lot at the same time.
why is Steamboat Willie Into the public domain?
Legal copyright does not last forever and was never intended to.Copyright law seeks to balance the fine line between creators being able to have a legal interest in their works (and be able to benefit financially from them) during their lifetimes, and the greater public interest in having those works enter a public forum where anyone can remix them and reuse them and develop new iterations, and crucially archivists can securely Collect and reproduce historical works Safekeeping without threat of legal reprisal.
The public domain is a living archive of cultural media history that can be accessed and used by anyone and is the ultimate goal of every copyrighted work. Although different countries have different rules for how long something can remain copyrighted before entering (Steamboat Willie Entering the public domain today (especially in terms of U.S. law), today’s addition marks an important milestone in the era of copyright law and Hollywood studio dominance, as Mickey himself has been at the helm of capitalism’s heavy stranglehold with Hollywood studios for decades. spokesperson for the struggle between the two countries. Public area.
why did it take so long Steamboat Willie Into the public domain?
The versions of Mickey and Minnie that enter the public domain today were created in 1928, and while they are not the first major characters to enter the public domain in recent history—Sherlock Holmes and Winnie the Pooh are recent high-profile figures— — but their arrival is so important because Disney spent Year Try to avoid this moment. In 1998, the U.S. Congress signed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which extended the provisions previously provided for in the Copyright Act by 20 years, aiming to protect the entire U.S. entertainment industry and bring U.S. copyright law into line with European copyright law. consistent. Act 1976.
Copyrighted works expire after 50 years after the death of the author, or 75 years for corporate author works (as is the case with Disney material) Steamboat Willie), became 70 years and 95 years respectively. However, the bill was derided as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act” as Disney was a major force in lobbying for an extension, hoping it would keep any form of Mickey Mouse away from the public for as long as it could. While the Copyright Term Extension Act does not apply retroactively to cases where copyrights have expired, it applies retroactively to anything that was still copyrighted when it was passed, effectively closing the door on works from 1998 all the way to 2019 entering the public domain. , which was a huge blow to its role as a source of archivable media history.
what people can do Steamboat Willie Now?
They have everything they want! Within limits.In the case of Mickey and Minnie specifically, the version now in the public domain very specifically appears in Steamboat Willie and silent movies crazy plane. Over the past nearly a century, Disney has iterated on Mickey’s design, adding color to him, changing elements (such as adding his iconic white gloves in 1929), and improving his overall features, perhaps What’s most striking is the shape and design of his eyes. For the most part, the elements that make up the modern Mickey Mouse — and that form the basis of Disney’s current ownership of the rest of the character’s history — were first introduced in the 1940 anthology film. fantasia (Ironically, it itself is a product that draws heavily on public domain music, and Mickey’s starring role in the “Sorcerer’s Apprentice” sequence was inspired by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s poetic ballad of the same name. ).
Creators could add elements that might be reminiscent of later Mickey and Minnie. steamboat Design – sounds, color elements, general character traits that they didn’t have in the 1928 material, like their affable nature – because those elements didn’t actually meet the rather low standard of copyrighted expression. They could also add completely different interpretations and additions to the designs that are original elements that have nothing to do with anything Disney has done with Mickey over the years.What are they cannot All you have to do is use any elements that are still copyrighted, such as the ones added fantasia Beyond that, they can’t willingly mislead audiences into thinking their Mickey Mouse material is either sponsored by Disney or actually produced by the studio – the material is still protected by a Disney-owned trademark and is operating in different legal spaces. Most notably, unlike copyrights, trademarks do not expire after a specific date.
What will Disney do?
It’s nothing – and it really doesn’t need to be. “Since Mickey Mouse first appeared in a 1928 short film Steamboat Williepeople connect this character to Disney stories, experiences and authentic products,” Disney said in a statement to Disney. Associated Press running to Steamboat Willie into the public domain. “When the copyright belongs to Steamboat Willie The film has expired. “
This may have some “Please don’t put my angry newspaper in it“Energy, but while the short’s entry into the public domain was a major copyright law milestone, in terms of its overall impact on Disney, it’s still relatively minor in the grand scheme of the Mouse House. As mentioned, Disney still owns the copyright rights to the elements of Mickey’s design that are largely what the public thinks of when they think of the character – and they also own Mickey’s trademark as a brand identifier, which will make many people unhappy about some creators. said using the character in the public domain was a daunting challenge, especially considering Disney has trademarks on the Mickey and Minnie names. The company even owns some trademarked elements Steamboat Willie Per se: 2022, Disney updated its trademark The Walt Disney Animation Studios logo, 15 years ago in 2007, had been updated to include a clip of Mickey driving a paddle boat, as he did in the short.
Just because now someone can do it Steamboat Willie into a horror story, which seems to be a common practice for new public domain works, if Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Regardless, this doesn’t mean Disney’s media empire will collapse overnight.People will still ride Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway At Disneyland, they still buy Mickey and Minnie stuffed animals, T-shirts, kitchenware, and anything else the company can slap on the faces of these mice. Mickey will continue to star in Disney productions because, for the most part, Disney still owns him.There’s a reason Disney isn’t lobbying for further copyright extensions Steamboat WillieDeadline – Arguably, it has lost the battle, but it’s far from lost the war.
What else is entering the public domain today?
Steamboat Willie is one of the most important works entering the public domain today, but it is not the only one worth noting.Today, thousands of works from 1928 (as well as recordings from five years earlier, in 1923) have entered the public domain, including the original German version All is calm on the Western Front, lady chatterley’s loveror even man who loves to laughIt was a 1928 film by Paul Leni that was partly the inspiration for the design of Batman’s legendary foil “Joker”.Following Winnie the Pooh in 2002, AA Milne’s story will follow in 2024 pooh corner housebringing Tigger into the public domain for the first time.
Since the end of the Copyright Term Extension Act in 2019, Duke University School of Law’s Center for Public Domain Studies has celebrated Public Domain Day every year on January 1. Great review You can find some of the more important entries that entered the public domain this year here, as well as information about Mickey Mouse’s own debut.
What’s next?
What happens now is anyone’s guess – Disney may try to wage a legal battle over what exactly people can do Steamboat WillieHow the public domain status intersects with Mickey’s own trademark law protections. But much of today is a victory over decades of copyright law, the first step in handing over a character that has become a notorious face of heavy-handed corporate influence over copyright, in the hands of anyone who wishes to use them.
But hey, remember how we said horror was the first port of call for new things to enter the public sphere these days? It’s not over yet on January 1, 2024, we already have a trailer infestation88a game launched by Nightmare Forge Games, Steamboat Willie Become a twisted version of yourself:
At least no one is saying these new works have to be particularly creative.
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