Is Mickey Mouse really usable for everyone? On January 1, 2024, the original version of the two mice with Big Ears, Mickey and Minnie, which appeared in the short film Steamboat Willie Since 1928, he freed himself from the law. Understanding, Disney no longer has exclusive rights about these characters. In the United States, works from 1928 to 1977 were only protected during the 95 years of dissemination.
Problem, Disney continues to affirm your intellectual property rights about these characters. The law firm Morgan & Morgan, specialized in bodily injuries, has recently attacked the resistance of the firm’s lawyers when I wanted to launch a great advertising campaign that represents the famous mouse, reports The Hollywood Reporter.
Fearing that an action in the falsification of the brand against him will be carried out, the cabinet attacked Disney in the Court last week, before a federal court in Florida.
The complaint quotes in particular “Disney’s story in the aggressive application of intellectual property rights”, the company’s “negative to renounce its intention to participate in legal actions against” Morgan & Morgan and the recent dispute that involves Sateur, a jewelry company. In fact, Disney has carried out legal action against this company in July, whose creations integrate the original Mickey version.
In Morgan & Morgan’s complaint, it is indicated that Disney argues that the expiration of his copyright Steamboat Willie It does not allow their competitors to damage their brands. The company retains in particular an important activity thanks to which it admits licenses for the use of Mickey Mouse for derived products, such as jewelry.
Aggressive policy
For many years, the entertainment giant has been fighting to prevent Mickey from falling into the public domain. When the mouse imagined in 1928, the copyright planned to protect any artistic creation for 56 years, until 1984 in the case of Mickey. But as long as the deadline approached, Disney embarked on a vast lobbying with the American Congress.
Then, the firm won the case and managed to achieve a new copyright law in 1976, which made it possible to protect all the works after 1922 for 75 years. Or 19 years of respite. One of his emblematic arguments was to guarantee income for two generations of beneficiaries.
But, in the mid -1990s, when copyright stopped in 2003, and Mickey brought several billions of dollars in the study, Disney gave a lobbying layer. The study then obtained a new extension of twenty years, nicknamed, not without irony, “Mickey Mouse Protection Law”.
Disney has also done everything possible to strengthen its control over Steamboat Willie. A few seconds from the film in 2007 were added to the study logo and now accompany the credits for each Disney production. The study also transformed the film into a brand multiplying commercialization (socks, cups, stickers, t -shirts).
However, companies have been able to use Mickey Mouse since it fell into the public domain. ShoutA horror movie that parodies the character, for example, was released earlier this year. And already two other horror films have already emerged, just after Mickey’s entrance to the public domain, Mickey mouse trap AND The disappearance of SS Willie.
Source: BFM TV
