As the US copyright expires, Disney’s original Mickey and Minnie Mouse goes into the public domain. While Mickey Mouse’s initial release is currently in the public domain, not all of its iterations are available for free use.
Steamboat Willie, a 1928 short film featuring early non-speaking versions of Mickey and Minnie, is widely seen as the moment that transformed Disney’s fortunes and made cinema history.
Their images are now available to the public in the US after Disney’s copyright expired.
It means creatives like cartoonists can now rework and use the earliest versions of Mickey and Minnie.
“Steamboat Willie,” directed by Walt Disney and his partner Ub Iwerks and among the first cartoons to have sound synced with its visuals was the third cartoon featuring Mickey and Minnie the men made, but the first to be released. It features a more menacing Mickey captaining a boat and making musical instruments out of other animals.
Walt Disney did not create his firm on the first Mickey Mouse animation, but it was the one with the ship-wheel spinning, tune-whistling, Ub Iwerks-drawn version of the mouse. “Plane Crazy” deserves that honor.
Anyone can use those versions without permission or cost.
In some instances, the U.S. goes well beyond Europe, and maintains copyright on work that is already public in its country of origin, though international agreements would allow the U.S. to adopt the shorter term of other nations on work produced there.
The Steamboat Willie copyright expiration will not affect more contemporary Mickeys, and Mickey will continue to play a major role in their theme parks, retail, and storytelling.
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