“Given Disney’s continued work with a Communist Chinese regime that does not respect human rights or U.S. This week, it was revealed that Disney shot in a province known for persecution of Uighurs. “Mulan’s” star sided with Hong Kong police over pro-democracy protesters last year.
But the trademark protection would not allow anyone to sell merchandise with that, or any, version of the mouse in a way that might suggest the merchandise is a Disney product.Ĭompany Town How Disney’s ‘Mulan’ became one of 2020’s most controversial movies While a copyright keeps other companies from replicating the Mickey Mouse image, a trademark ensures that other companies can’t use the Mickey Mouse image in a way that might suggest their products are made by Disney.įor example, if the copyright expires, a YouTube creator would be able to use the 1928 Mickey Mouse in their own animated video montage, without repercussions. Legal experts say the debate over copyright protection is moot because the only version of Mickey Mouse that is expiring is the 1928 black-and-white one depicted in “Steamboat Willie.” Copyright protections remain in place for later versions of Mickey Mouse, the more commercially recognized one that wears white gloves, has bigger ears, distinctive eyes and a pet dog named Pluto, according to experts.Ĭrucially, Disney also still holds trademark protection on Mickey Mouse, which does not expire. She formerly oversaw intellectual property and interactive and media legal functions for Walt Disney Co. Other companies’ copyrighted characters would also expire, sending more notable characters into the public domain.ĭisney critics say the company continues to have influence over copyright law, pointing to the recent naming of Suzanne Wilson as the general counsel and associate register of copyrights for the United States Copyright Office.
No legislation has been proposed to extend the copyright a third time, and copyright experts and lawmakers say it’s not likely that any legislators will want to lead that battle, given the opposition and fury it generated in the 1990s. Supreme Court by publishers, libertarians and others who called the bill “corporate welfare” that allowed the copyright owners to continue to profit from their work while keeping it out of the hands of the public.
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The most recent extension came through the Copyright Term Extension Act in 1998, known to many as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act because of Disney’s heavy lobbying in support of the bill.įrom 1987 to 1990 - around the time the legislation was being voted on - the Disney Political Action Committee donated $146,519 to federal candidates, while Disney employees gave $474,083 to candidates, plus an additional $133,382 to political parties and other PACs, according to a 1991 analysis by The Times. The original Mickey Mouse copyright was set to expire in 1984 but has been extended twice by Congress at the behest of Disney and other media companies.
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