Mickey Mouse will become a public domain in 2024 increase.
That is, Disney may lose its exclusive rights to small rodents within two years.
The intellectual property rights of a work of art expire in 1995 under US copyright law.
The Daily Mailreports that Disney initially had a copyright that was protected for 56 years. The company upheld the 1976 Copyright Act, which extended protection to 75 years. In 1998, they were upset and got it for further expansion.
Disney seems likely to try to keep Mickey Mouse away from the public domain, but nothing is said about what the company is planning.
Mickey has been famous since 1928 and has appeared in the animated filmSteamboat Willie.
He has long been a Disney symbol known as the "House of Mouse" and one of the most iconic anime characters in the world.
However, once the copyright has expired, anyone can use the character without asking for permission or paying a fee.
Disney, well known for its legal ferocity to protect its symbol, once threatened to sue three Florida day care centers for misuse of anime characters.
AndThey sued the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciencesin 1989 for a song and dance routine featuring the Snow White character in Oscar that year.
If copyright belongs to Mickey Mouse, he could be like Winnie the Pooh — a fair game for everyone. More or less.
Winnie went into the public domain earlier this year and was soon portrayed as a serial killer in a horror movie.
However, media and entertainment lawyer Daniel Maeda gaveGuardianthe character of Mickey Mouse, whether in the public domain or not. He said it was difficult to use.
People may face allegations of copyright infringement even if what they create for Mickey is too close to Disney's originals I have.
"Since the Mickey Mouse character was originally created, you can create your own Mickey Mouse story or story using this character," Mayeda said. ..
"But if you do it the way people think about Disney, it's probably because you've invested in this character for a long time, but in theory, Disney violates your trademark. It can be said that "
Disney may lose control of the original Mickey Mouse, but such images also have subsequent iterations of the mouse and until the 1995 mark is reached." , There are other variations they control.
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