In the past, Disney has pressured the federal government to extend copyright terms to protect Mickey Mouse from falling into the public domain. The last extension was widely viewed as a corporate handout to Disney and others, which makes another extension unlikely.
Until the 1970s, copyright terms only lasted for 56 years. Now works published in 1923 or later are protected for 95 years.
Disney now is likely to use trademarks to extend its ownership of Mickey Mouse. Unlike copyrights for creative works, trademarks are renewable for perpetuity. So Disney could do an end-run around copyright law using trademarks. Trademarks were designed to protect consumers from knockoff products, such as fake Rolex watches or fake Gucci handbags.
This will keep a lot of lawyers busy for years.
Lately I’ve noticed a big increase in licensed products featuring Mickey Mouse, purportedly to celebrate the character’s 90th birthday.
At the grocery store, I’ve seen Mickey Mouse branded Eggo waffles, Oreo cookies and Dole pineapples. In technology products, I’ve seen Mickey Mouse branded Beats headphones and OtterBox smartphone cases.
My guess is Disney is bucking up its argument that Mickey Mouse isn’t just a creative work but a corporate brand. Thus, Disney would argue, that it can stamp out any works that use the Mickey Mouse name. That would not be in the spirit of copyright law and would hurt the public domain.
Related reading:
Why Mickey Mouse’s 1998 copyright extension probably won’t happen again (Ars Technica; Jan. 8, 2018)
A Landslide of Classic Art Is About to Enter the Public Domain (The Atlantic; April 8, 2018)
These 1923 Copyrighted Works Enter the Public Domain in 2019 (Lifehacker; April 13, 2018)
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