As of January 1st 2024 Mickey Mouse is now in the public domain. This iconic character created by Walt Disney can now be used by anyone, with some restraints. If you were to use this character you must only use the design given to him back in 1928. This version of mickey does not wear any gloves and doesn’t have red pants. You must also make sure to disassociate your version with anything Disney related. Mickey has almost made it to the public domain on three separate occasions, but the laws involving copyright mysteriously change before he becomes available to the public.
Disney has been messing with copyright law for years to keep Mickey in their hands. Originally, the rule was that a character was protected for 56 years after publication. This rule came from the 1909 act. The copyright would have ended in 1984 with this law, but the Copyright Act of 1976 happened just before the public could get their hands on the beloved mouse. Disney made a huge lobbying effort to make this law happen. This law extended Mickey’s copyright from 56 years to 75 years. That is a addition 19 years that Disney got to keep their mascot. This law would have made Mickeys’ copyright expire in 2003. This law was widely needed for the benefit of the laws of copyright in general. For instance, it gave us fair use laws which allows us to use copyrighted material in many different forms. This was not the only time Disney lobbied for a change in copyright laws because in 1998 they lobbied for the 1998 Copyright Term Extension Act. This gave Disney 20 more years of copyright for their mascot. This act has been called the Mickey Mouse protection act. This is because Disney spent 6 million dollars in lobbying efforts to make this law happen. This is not the only thing Disney did to make this law happen. They spent money on campaigns for people who supported the bill. This has lead many people to wonder why Disney let Mickey into the public domain this time. There are multiple theories as to why Disney did not do this. It could be because information is far more widespread than in was in the 1990s, so people might get a little more mad if Disney decides to try to change the law again.
Another theory is that Mickey is no longer as big for the company as he used to be. This is because Disney has been making some big acquisitions, so the mouse is not as valuable as he once was. Whatever the case may be, Mickey is finally in the public domain after 95 years.
