Copyright protection for the first Mickey Mouse film ever made ends
Almost a century after its cinema debut, copyright protection for the first Mickey Mouse film ever made ends at the turn of the year: Under US law, the copyright on the short black-and-white animated film "Steamboat Willie" from 1928 expires on January 1. This leaves the door open for remakes, spin-offs and adaptations by other artists - as well as for legal disputes with Disney.
Theoretically, anyone can now copy, reuse and adapt "Steamboat Willie" and "Plane Crazy" - another Disney cartoon from 1928 - as well as the original characters featured in them, such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse. "This is a highly symbolic, highly anticipated moment," says Jennifer Jenkins, a public domain specialist at Duke University.
A version of "Steamboat Willie" in which the ship is stranded in a dried-up riverbed due to climate change, or a feminist version in which Minnie takes the helm, would therefore be possible.
But it won't be easy thanks to the Disney Group: It will continue to protect its "rights to the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright," the mighty corporation explains.
In fact, the mouse from "Steamboat Willie" is a rather scrawny, crudely drawn character with relatively small ears that many viewers would probably find difficult to identify as Mickey Mouse. "Only this little animal in black and white will be free for use in the future, not the Mickey Mouse that is so familiar to today's generations of Americans," says Justin Hughes from Loyola University's Faculty of Law. He expects "legal skirmishes" if newer elements of Mickey, such as the red shorts or the white gloves, are copied.
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With the expiration of copyright protection, creators now have the opportunity to remake or adapt the original 1928 Mickey Mouse films 'Steamboat Willie' and 'Plane Crazy'. However, confrontations with Disney may arise over the use of modern elements associated with Mickey Mouse, like his red shorts and white gloves, which are still under copyright protection.
Source: www.ntv.de
