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This iconic mouse is weeks away fromn being in the public domain Jan. 1, 2024, is the day when ‘Steamboat Willie’ enters the public domain
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Additionally, even though the copyright is expiring, the trademark is not.
“You can use the Mickey Mouse character as it was originally created to create your own Mickey Mouse stories or stories with this character,” Daniel Mayeda, associate director of the Documentary Film Legal Clinic at UCLA School of Law, told The Guardian. “But if you do so in a way that people will think of Disney — which is kind of likely because they have been investing in this character for so long — then in theory, Disney could say you violated my trademark.”
😕
Which they will do. Immediately and with the force of a thousand suns.
Disney loves them some lawsuits.
they can’t sue every r34 artist haha
They don’t give a shit about any R34 artist. They’ll give a lot of shit if you start to make money, or diminish their brand in any measurable way - aka become popular enough to affect public opinion.
Just draw Mickey Mouse and caption it “This is Pikachu.”
“Ceci n’est pas une Mickey Mouse”
So when are we getting a dark Mickey? The dark Winnie The Pooh came out pretty fast after that copyright expired…
Disney originally fought Steamboat Willie becoming public domain via Sonny Bono because it was the home video era and it meant that anyone could sell VHS tapes with Steamboat Willie on them. It’s no longer really relevant and Mickey is still trademarked, so they don’t have much of a reason to fight it at this point.
No reason to fight it? How about keeping Mickey locked behind copyright to be sold and licensed for another generation? Maybe not as popular as it once was, but it’s one remake away from being a new smash hit again.
Mickey is already trademarked. That is not necessary.
