These Classic Characters Are Losing Copyright Protection. They May Never Be the Same.
New York TimesJan 01
As of Monday, the Walt Disney movie, "Steamboat Willy," has moved into the public domain — meaning the Mickey Mouse character from this feature can be creatively used in new works.
With the release of "Steamboat Willy" and a version of "Plane Crazy," an early iteration of Minnie Mouse also has migrated to the public domain. Among the other works now in the public domain as of Jan. 1, 2024, are JM Barrie’s "Peter Pan," Virginia Woolf’s "Orlando," and Tigger, a friend of Winnie the Pooh.
Moving works like Steamboat Willy Mickey into the public domain helps feed the veins of creativity and inspiration of modern-day artists. A wide array of new ideas are already being formulated by artists and writers alike — imagining different uses for Mickey, and the other characters, songs, and stories, that can now be used in various mediums. Building off these works keeps the arts going.
Whether the arts will be advanced by these works becoming part of the public domain remains to be seen. In the past, and this situation, we've seen beloved characters used for untasteful derivative purposes that do nothing but allow creators to make a quick buck through crass internet monetization. Already Mickey is popping up in works that will do nothing but make the public miss the true intent of the original artform.
There's a 69% chance at least 10 of the 20 highest-grossing new movies in the year 2050 will be remakes of previous movies or continuations of previous movie franchises, according to the Metaculus prediction community.