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Alliance Center for
Intellectual Property Rights


WELCOME MICKEY MOUSE

March 15, 2025

*Ms. Dimple Ganiga P

INTRODUCTION

The new year of 2024 came bearing a big surprise which raised a lot of eyebrows. We all know how cartoon characters play an important role in the childhood of an individual and how they become more than just a cartoon. We can see children getting emotionally connected with these characters simply because of the significant amount of time the children spend on them.

BIRTH AND ADVANCEMENT OF CARTOONS

The word “cartoon” is derived from a French word called “carton”, which means a strong heavy paper. It was in 1610, that the word “cartoon” was used to refer to the heavy paper on which preliminary sketches of artwork were made and it was later in 1916, that the cartoons were given life through animation. It was first in 1843, that cartoons were utilized in print media for a series of illustrations. It was also used for political illustrations known as political cartoons. Simply put, a cartoon is a drawing, and the person who creates it is known as a cartoonist. John Leech was the first artist to be called a ‘Cartoonist’ when his drawings were released on July 15th, 1843 in a magazine named Punch with the caption: ‘Cartoon No. 1: Substance and Shadow’.

COPYRIGHT IN PROTECTING CARTOONISTS

The cartoonist here is empowered with certain rights to protect his works. This exclusive right that an artist has is called copyright or author’s rights. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) defines copyright as or author’s right as a legal term used to describe the rights that creators have over their literary and artistic works. Works covered by copyright range from books, music, paintings, sculpture, and films, to computer programs, databases, advertisements, maps, and technical drawings.

U.S LAWS AND THE COPYRIGHT ACT

In the United States, this Copyright Act is called the Copyright Act of 1976 which is governed by the federal government. This act prevents people from making unauthorized use of the author’s work, however, one can copy the ideas contained within that work. For example, a copyright license covers only the descriptions for building a machine but the actual machine itself will not fall under this license. This means anyone can use these descriptions and build a machine but no one can copy those descriptions. Comic strips and cartoons are examples of authorship that is covered by copyright. This protection encompasses any written or visual expression within the work that is protected by copyright. Therefore, a character's picture, painting, description, or writing can all be registered for copyright.

THE HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF U.S COPYRIGHT LAW

The printing press's introduction to England in the late fourteenth century marked the beginning of the history of copyright law in the United States. Authorities tried to regulate book publishing by giving printers a monopoly-like grip on publishing in England as the number of printing presses increased. The US Constitution's copyright clause was put into effect by the First Congress in 1790. It gave American writers the freedom to publish, reprint, and print their works for a first 14-year period, renewable for an additional 14. By giving creators a monopoly, the law was intended to encourage writers, artists, and scientists to produce creative artwork. However, after the expiration of this period, the protected works enter into the ‘public domain’ to promote innovation and the development of "science and the useful arts". In 1831, the protection period was extended to 28 years, with a potential 14-year extension. Congress argued that by extending the term, it was providing American authors with the same level of protection as their European counterparts. Both upcoming and current works in production whose copyright had not yet expired were covered by the extension. Other major changes to the act were made in 1870, 1909, and 1976. In 1909, the US Copyright Act underwent a significant overhaul. The measure increased the number of works of authorship covered by protection to 28, with an additional 28 years of protection on renewal.

WHAT HAPPENED TO MICKEY MOUSE?

The most recent amendment to the copyright law was passed by congress who was lobbied The Walt Disney. But what’s surprising is that Mickey Mouse is losing its copyrights after 95 years. How was this possible? This Mickey Mouse, cartoon created, embodies innovation, originality, and a contribution to knowledge, is protected by copyright. This contribution was made by Walt Disney. In fact, Walt Disney owns so many different iterations of Mickey Mouse that we can refer to them as Mickey Mice. However, the original Mickey Mouse version, or OG version, that Disney ever published was a seven-minute short film called Steamboat Willie that featured a non-speaking version of Mickey in 1928. This Mickey version changed the entire cinema history and saved Walt Disney, an American Animator and entertainment conglomerate when it was at its lowest point. However, this was not the silver screen debut of Mickey Mouse. Before Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse featured in a silent short film called “Plane Crazy” and another short film “The Gallopin’ Gaucho”, which was test-screened only months before “Steamboat Willie” was screened in public. These silent short films didn’t attract a lot of attraction and fame due to which Disney and his collaborator Ub Iwerks, used sound in their animation, and released the famous Steamboat Willie in November of 1928, which went on to be the savior of Disney company. This sound version of Mickey Mouse gained a lot of popularity and in no time Disney witnessed huge profits. After this, Disney released its two silent short films again in the theatres in 1929.

COPYRIGHT EXPIRATION AND PUBLIC DOMAIN STAUS

The copyright license of the Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse expired on 1st January 2024 whereas, the Plane Crazy Mickey Mickey with sound won’t enter the public domain until 2025. Even though the copyright of Steamboat Willie has expired at the stroke of 12 AM, of 1st January 2024, there are some major limitations to what extent the public artists and creators can use the cartoon. Before crystallizing the limitations, we have to understand that not all versions of Mickey Mouse are open to public use. Only the OG version of Mickey Mickey, that is, the one featured in the short Steamboat Willie is up for grabs. There were many other versions of Mickey Mouse that were released after Steamboat Willie which still enjoy its Copyrights license. We can say that Disney did a great job protecting its iconic character, the one which Disney themselves claimed to give them a revenue of $15,000,000,000 and the company is now worth 171 billion, credits of which goes to Mickey Mouse. Over the last century, contributions They pushed the copyright period for 95 years by lobbying Congress and now it is officially the 96th year, therefore, Mickey Mouse is out in the public domain. However, nobody can use Steamboat Willie in a way that could convey that Disney has produced or sponsored their product.  If an individual uses any other versions of Mickey Mouse whose copyrights are still under the control of Disney, they can expect a dirty legal battle because there is nothing Disney takes more seriously than Intellectual Property.

CONCLUSION

Looking at the fact how mickey mouse is now in public domain shows us how copyright law strives to balance between creative freedom and protecting the creation. Even though it is now in public domain, it comes with a legal boundary as not all version is free to use by the public.  In 2020, Disney brought a suit against an Elementary School in California and charged $250 billion. In 2006, Disney forced a daycare in Florida to remove the murals craved onto a child’s gravestone because it was infringing on their copyrights. There are many other cases that Disney brought against many people for infringing their copyrights. Now that we have Mickey Mouse in the public domain, make sure you use the correct version of Mickey Mouse in order to save yourself from the ugly legal battle that Disney might mercilessly bring against you.

REFERENCES:

  1. CAMBRIDGE DICTIONARY, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/french-english/carton (last visited Mar. 15 2025).
  2. Jess Zafarris, The Etymology of cartoon, USELESS ETYMOLOGY (Mar. 15, 2025, 10:54 AM), https://uselessetymology.com/2018/01/10/the-etymology-of-cartoon/.
  3. Padma Ponugoti, Impact of Television Cartoons on children, 7 IJCRT 62 (2019)
  4. BRITANNICA, https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Leech (last visited Mar. 15, 2025).
  5. THE VICTORIAN WEB, https://victorianweb.org/art/illustration/leech/98.html (last visited Mar. 15, 2025).
  6. THE PUNCH MAGAZINE, https://thepunchmagazine.com/about (last visited Mar. 15, 2025)
  7. Mark Bryant, The First Cartoon, HISTORY TODAY (Mar. 15, 2025, 11:12 PM), https://www.historytoday.com/archive/%E2%80%98-first-cartoon%E2%80%99#:~:text='%20is%20much%20more%20straightforward%20and,be%20called%20a%20'cartoonist.
  8. THE ECONOMIC TIMES, https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/defaultinterstitial.cms (last visited Mar. 15, 2024).
  9. WORLD INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ORGANIZATION, https://www.wipo.int/portal/en/index.html (last visited Mar. 15, 2025).
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  14. Scottie Andrew, A Little-Known Version of Mickey Mouse Came Before ‘Steamboat Willie’ — And He Wasn’t Very Nice, CNN ENTERTAINMENT (Jan. 3, 2024, 8:54 AM EST), https://edition.cnn.com/2024/01/01/entertainment/mickey-mouse-plane-crazy-cec.
  15. INTERNET ARCHIVE, https://archive.org/details/looneytunesmickey.1928silentearly (last visited, Mar. 16, 2025).
  16. DAILYMOTION, https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8regfs (last visited, Mar. 17, 2025).
  17. BRITANNICA, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ub-Iwerks (last visited, Mar. 17, 2025).
  18. Christie D’Zurilla, Some Dads Screened ‘The Lion King’ At A School Fundraiser. Now Disney is the Bad Guy, LOS ANGELES TIMES (Feb. 07, 2020, 01:27 PM PT), https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/business/story/2020-02-07/disney-pta-licensing-lion-king#:~:text=A%20California%20elementary%20school%20PTA,to%20donate%20to%20the%20cause.

Author:
* Ms. Dimple Ganiga P, Advocate
3rd Year, B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) Student, Alliance School of Law, Alliance University, Bengaluru

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article are the personal opinions of the author. The facts and opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of the Alliance Centre for Intellectual Property Rights (ACIPR) and the Centre does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.