Expect Disney to get litigious as Mickey Mouse enters the public domain

The Walt Disney Co. will lose copyright protection over the earliest version of Mickey Mouse on Jan. 1, 2024. That’s a big win for the general public. But the media conglomerate isn’t going to cede control over the character without a fight.
The purpose of copyright is to provide legal protection of literary and artistic ideas for a limited period of time. After which, those ideas belong to humanity, which can freely reinterpret them, expand on them and copy them in new ways. Copyrights are similar to patents, which are for business ideas.
Over the years, copyright protection has been extended several times, mostly benefiting corporations. The last extension of copyright terms in the U.S. in 1998 is derisively referred to as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.”
On Monday, the cartoon “Steamboat Willie” (1928) will finally enter the public domain. It features the earliest depictions of Mickey Mouse, his love interest Minnie Mouse and his arch-nemesis Pete.
Since that original cartoon short, those characters have appeared in numerous cartoons, movies, TV shows, comics and other media. And that’s where things get complicated for copyright. Also, Mickey’s appearance and that of the other characters have changed over the years.
Anyone wanting to adapt Mickey Mouse will need to stick closely to what was shown in the original 95-year-old cartoon. Since “Steamboat Willie” was in black and white, you probably can’t even depict the character with red shorts and yellow shoes. He also didn’t wear white gloves until a 1929 cartoon, “The Opry House.”
Anything Mickey Mouse has done in the decades since is off limits. For instance, you likely can’t portray Mickey as a soldier, firefighter, band conductor, detective, secret agent, sorcerer and more, because Disney did those later.
Ironically, unflattering depictions of Mickey Mouse are most likely safest from Disney’s copyrights. This includes Dan O’Neill’s depiction of Mickey as a drug smuggler in the “Air Pirates Funnies” (1971), which legal critics argue should have been covered by the parody exception to copyright.
There have been many cases of copyright holding companies and creator estates filing lawsuits against perceived infringements of later works of a popular character, such as Sherlock Holmes.
Also, Mickey Mouse is covered by trademarks of the Walt Disney Co. So it’s doubtful anyone can make Mickey-themed products like T-shirts and plush animals. Unlike copyrights, trademarks last in perpetuity as long as they continue to be used commercially by the owner.

Related articles:

Why the original Mickey Mouse copyright is expiring on New Year’s Day (New York Post; Dec. 28, 2023)

Mickey Mouse, Long a Symbol in Copyright Wars, to Enter Public Domain: ‘It’s Finally Happening’ (Variety; Dec. 22, 2023)

Mickey Mouse will soon belong to you and me — with some caveats (Associated Press; Dec. 30, 2023)

Why Is Media Lamenting Disney’s ‘Loss’ Of Copyright Instead Of Celebrating The Public Domain? (Techdirt; July 25, 2022)

There’s bound to be legal drama when Batman and Superman enter the public domain in coming years — but experts caution there’s ‘no precedent’ for the thorny issue (Business Insider; Aug. 25, 2022)