There is a world-famous joke about intellectual property rights protection: if one day you are stranded on a desert island and need to call for help, you don't have to do anything, just draw a Mickey Mouse on the beach, and Disney will immediately drive *** to take you to court. Therefore, in recent years, Disney has gained the title of "the strongest legal department on the surface".
On January 1, 2024, an early version of the entertainment company's mascot from Walt Disney's 1928 short film Steamboat Willie** officially entered the public domain. Mickey Mouse has been synonymous with the Disney brand for nearly a century and has grown into one of the most iconic characters in American pop culture. But Disney's exclusive ownership of the character has officially ended since the U.S. Copyright Act, which Congress updated in 1998 to allow copyright to remain for 95 years.
This also means that more and more Mickey will enter the public eye, which is undoubtedly a huge good news for cross-border sellers. Mickey's IP has become very popular, and sellers of Mickey Mouse peripheral products need to pay high royalties, or risk being accused of infringement at any time to sell products. From January 1, 2024, the original Mickey Mouse, who will turn 95 years old, is free! But it is important for sellers to note that what is free today is the original version of Mickey Mouse, which was born in 1928. Later, Disney continued to enrich and change the color and image on the basis of the original Mickey Mouse, and Disney's follow-up Mickey Mouse image is still an untouchable high-risk trademark!
In a statement to CNN, a Disney spokesperson said, "The more modern version of Mickey will not be affected by the expiration of the rights to Steamboat Willie, and Mickey will continue to play a leading role in our storytelling as a global ambassador for The Walt Disney Company, theme park attractions and merchandise." "Mickey Mouse in 1928 is different from Disney's mascot today. Mickey in Steamboat Willie does not have the gloves and oversized shoes that Mickey has now, and his eyes are small black ovals with no pupils.
Rebecca Tashnett, a professor at Harvard Law School, said that while the public domain allows anyone to reimagine the steamboat Willie in any way they want, you can't replicate elements of the more modern Mickey Mouse. Disney still owns these trademarks. "Whatever you do, in order to be protected from copyright infringement claims. You really have to make something new and make sure your foundation is a Willie steamboat," she said. Tushnet said that while Disney will have to "grudgingly admit" control over the image of the steamboat Willie, the company could sue anyone who remakes a more similar version of Mickey Mouse.
A Disney spokesperson told CNN that the company will "continue to protect our rights to more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other copyrighted works, and we will work to prevent confusion among consumers from unauthorized use of Mickey Mouse and our other works." Tushnett**, one of the first places we saw the Steamboat Willie remake was Etsy, although one wrong step could expose small sellers and artists to a lawsuit from Disney.
In the cross-border circle, a large number of Mickey's related products have been listed or are ready to be listed, after all, the economic benefits of this IP are indeed very strong! However, when using, it is necessary to understand the legal risks clearly to avoid unnecessary losses caused by touching the red line!