[Disney Amusement Park. Credit to pxhere]

Disney’s beloved character Mickey Mouse from the 1928 film “Steamboat Willie” will soon enter the public domain as copyright protection from the US ends in 2023, and a fight from Disney is expected to occur.

“Steamboat Willie”, released on November 18, 1928, was the first film produced by Walt Disney and directed by Ub Iwerks. 

It was a short 8-minute black-and-white animated film that first introduced the company Disney and its first character Mickey Mouse to the world. 

In the film, Mickey Mouse pilots a steam river sidewheeler as the captain of the boat with synchronized music playing in the background.

Most Disney fans would recognize this iconic scene from the film as the opening for many recent Disney films such as “Encanto” and “Frozen”, and it is one of the most popular scenes that represent the company.

As one of the leading family entertainment and media enterprises, Disney has fought hard for their copyright protections such as the extension of their copyright protections in 1988 named the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.”

However, the character Mickey Mouse from “Steamboat Willie” that first introduced the iconic mascot to the world will soon lose copyright protection and will be available to the public in 2024.

Although Disney has made the film free online to ensure minimal sales, the film will be able to be shown anywhere and resold for new creations even without Disney’s permission after its copyright expires.

Later versions of Mickey Mouse will remain protected by copyright in the coming decades, but the original version of Mickey will enter the public domain and will be Disney’s first priority in 2023. 

A similar situation occurred this year with the book “Winnie-the-Pooh” by A.A. Milne entering the public domain.

Since Disney had no copyright recourse, as long as future filmmakers adhered to the 1926 material and did not use later elements, other films like “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” were announced to be released. 

However, the current situation is different since Mickey Mouse serves as the face of Disney with many people associating it with the company whenever they see it.

Given Disney’s history with its strong push for the protection of its works, many fans and copyright experts are curious as to how Disney will respond.

Disney has always taken their public image more seriously than intellectual property, as reflected in their actions in 2020 when they charged an elementary school $250 for showing “The Lion King” without their permission at a fund-raiser.

Experts predict that the company will continue to fully protect the copyrights of modern versions of Mickey Mouse and will work to prevent confusion caused by unauthorized uses of Mickey, but are still unsure if they are willing to go through a long and tiring fight for their Mickey from “Steamboat Willie”.

This is a dilemma that Disney has to face in the upcoming new year, but protecting visual works by copyright has always been essential for almost every firm in the entertainment industry.

The entertainment industry will have to continue striving to prevent their work from unauthorized use in the future.