January 1 holds a lot of significance. It is known as ‘Public Domain Day’, when copyrights expire and officially enter the public domain.
Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse (Minerva Mouse) have been the most adored cartoon characters created by Walt Disney. As the clock struck midnight on new year’s eve, the Walt Disney Company lost its copyright over the famed characters.
This means that Mickey Mouse is free to be experimented on by the public. And, the process has begun.
There was a trailer that the media powerhouse recently released. Infestation 88’, a first-person action horror game with Mickey Mouse as the antagonist. It was listed on the PC gaming marketplace, Steam on January 1, 2024, stated a media portal.
Secondly, an independent British slasher film called ‘Mickey’s Mouse Trap’ featuring a twisted take on the character’s first appearance in the cartoon movie ‘Steamboat Willie’, which first appeared in 1928 too was an instant hit.
The issue here is, both features of Mickey Mouse are that of the original sketch of the character – who had a longer nose, thinner tail, smaller ears, and first featured in Steamboat Willie, whose copyright has expired.
Flipping the pages of history: Birth of Mickey Mouse
It was the year 1923. Walt Disney, a Kansas-based cartoonist, took a loan of $500, and with help from his brother Roy Disney, founded the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio on October 16 in their uncle’s garage in Hollywood, California.
Today, it is known as the Walt Disney Company, one of the largest media companies in the world.
In 1927, Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks, an animator, created around 26 cartoons featuring ‘Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’ for Universal Pictures. However, Walt Disney subsequently lost ownership of the character. There is a history attached to this.
There was an American film producer named Charles Mintz. A year later, in February 1928, he secretly entered into a contract with Disney animators, after he witnessed the profound success of ‘Oswald the Lucky Rabbit’. But, Mintz stole the cartoon character from Disney. Then, he moved the production of the Oswald cartoons to Winkler Studio.
When Disney lost the ownership, he did not give up. He tweaked the character of Oswald, and Mickey Mouse was born. While Disney still owns the copyrights to this property, there is always an expiry date attached to such rights.
When Disney first got the copyrights to Mickey Mouse, it was to last for 56 years, and expire in 1984. But the Walt Disney Group lobbied the US government and got it extended till 2003, and then again, by another 20 years.
Since 1928, Disney has come up with various versions of the cartoon character, and for each version, its copyright law will expire after 95 years.
Cartoon characters, other personalities and their loss of copyright
There are a host of cartoon characters whose seeds of inceptions were laid in 1928. Along with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, cartoon characters like Tigger (Winnie The Pooh’s friend) and Peter Pan too are losing their copyright this year.
Tigger first appeared in The House at Pooh Corner which was released in 1928. And, Peter Pan appeared as a character in 1902’s adult novel ‘The Little White Bird’.
Two years ago, in 2022, the copyright surrounding Winnie The Pooh expired and it became free to be used by the public. As soon as this move took place, a horror-slasher film ‘Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Money’ was released. A sequel is being planned in February.
The other works which have entered the public domain are Agatha Christie’s ‘The Mystery of the Blue Train’, Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Circus’, D.H Lawrence’s novel Lady Chatterley’s Lover, and Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf, stated a media report.
Starting 2025, the most famous cartoon character ‘Popeye the Sailor Man’ too will be free to be experimented on by the public.
Two years from now, which is in 2026, Mickey Mouse’s friend Pluto will be ready for experimentation by the public.
Imhotep, an Egyptian scholar who appeared in one of Universal’s movies, 1932’s The Mummy and in the 1999 remake and in 2001’s ‘The Mummy Returns’ as the main antagonist. The media powerhouse will lose its copyright for the character in 2028.
In 2029, Walt Disney’s second most famed creation Donald Duck will lose its copyright. The character first appeared in 1934’s The Wise Little Hen.
King Kong’s (a fictional giant monster) original version will be available for public use in 2029. The character first appeared in the King Kong movie released in 1933.