Disney Lost Mickey Mouse Copyright, Here's the Explanation

KH Friend, who doesn’t know the fictional mouse-shaped cartoon character, Mickey Mouse? Thanks to The Walt Disney Company, people can recognize many cartoon characters including Mickey Mouse. But after 95 years, Walt Disney’s copyright for the Mickey Mouse character has officially expired. Thus, the Mickey Mouse design has the status of public property or is in the public domain. Because Mickey Mouse is in the public domain, people can recreate the mouse character in movies or other media without having to ask permission. How come? Can a work of art that was originally copyrighted then become public domain that can be used by the general public? So you’re not confused, check out the full explanation in the following article.

Disney’s Explanation on Mickey Mouse Copyright

Since his birth, the playful mouse has been a Disney icon and one of the most iconic characters in American pop culture for nearly a century. However, Disney announced that as of January 1, 2024, it no longer owns the copyright to use the Mickey Mouse character. As reported by CNN International, the Mickey Mouse character in question is the version that appeared in Walt Disney’s November 18, 1928 short film, Steamboat Willie. With the release of the copyright, Disney can no longer monetize the design. This happens because of the regulations that govern the expiration of copyright within a certain time frame. Where the United States (US) Copyright Law (UU) only allows copyrights to be held for 95 years. Therefore, 2024, which is marked as the 96th year, will be the end of Disney’s exclusive claim to Mickey Mouse. Previously, Disney had filed to extend ownership of the copyright through the 1998 Copyright Extension Act. However, the extension ended in rejection by US lawmakers. Nevertheless, a spokesperson for the Walt Disney Company confirmed that Mickey Mouse will remain an icon of his company. This is because the modern version of Mickey can still be used by Disney in full. “Mickey will continue to play a major role as a global ambassador for the Walt Disney Company in storytelling, theme park attractions, and merchandise,” said a Walt Disney spokesman through a statement, quoted Tuesday (2/1/2023). The Walt Disney Company further said that there are a number of significant differences between the 1928 version of Mickey and the modern version. In the 1928 version or Steamboat Willie, Mickey did not use gloves and big shoes, and had small black oval eyes without pupils. Meanwhile, the modern Mickey is the opposite.

A Disney spokesperson said that it will continue to protect the copyright of the modern version of Mickey Mouse and other works that are still copyrighted.

Copyright becomes public domain, what does that mean?

In the above case, it is clear that Disney’s copyright on the original version of Mickey Mouse has officially expired and is therefore in the public domain. In other words, the work can be enjoyed in general by the public, without being tied to a particular individual or party. Quoted from the booklet Public Domain in Indonesia, the definition of the public domain itself is creative and intellectual works that have become common property because they are not protected or are no longer protected by exclusive copyright laws. This work becomes non-exclusive partly because the work is no longer protected by exclusive rights. Therefore, the public can use it freely without having to ask permission from anyone. Works that have become public domain will be considered part of public cultural heritage. So, any individual can use it without restriction. In this case, there is no royalty or revenue sharing to the creator in every use of the work.

Causes of Public Domain

In addition to the expiration of the copyright period as happened with the Mickey Mouse cartoon, the condition of the removal of the legal force of recording the creation and related rights products can also occur for other reasons, such as the following (Article 74 paragraph (1) of Law 28/2014):

The request of the person or legal entity whose name is recorded as the creator, copyright holder, or owner of related rights due to the expiration of time as specified in the articles governing the term of copyright.
The passage of time;
Court decisions that have obtained permanent legal force regarding the cancellation of recording of creations or related rights products that violate religious norms, moral norms, public order, national defense and security, or laws and regulations whose deletion is carried out by the Minister of Law and Human Rights.

Cover

From the explanation above, it can be concluded that in order to legally protect his/her work, the creator needs to register or register the work with the Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DJKI) of the Ministry of Law and Human Rights. Later, there will be two rights attached to the creator, namely moral rights and economic rights. Moral rights are rights that are eternally attached to the creator and cannot be transferred as long as he or she is alive. In other words, the creator’s moral rights apply indefinitely. While economic rights are the exclusive rights of the creator or copyright holder to obtain economic benefits for his creation, one of which is in the form of royalties. Where under applicable law in Indonesia, for applied art works, copyright protection is valid for 25 years. While for copyright on:

books, pamphlets, and all other written works;
lectures, lectures, speeches, and other similar creations;
teaching aids made for the benefit of education and science;
song or music with or without text;
drama, musical drama, dance, choreography, puppetry and pantomime;
works of art in all forms such as painting, drawing, engraving, calligraphy, sculpture, or collage;
architectural works;
maps; and
batik art or other motif art,

It is valid for the lifetime of the creator and continues for 70 years after the creator dies. However, if the copyright of these creations is owned or held by a legal entity, then the protection will be valid for 50 years from the announcement. Furthermore, for creations:

photographic works;
Portrait;
cinematographic works;
video games;
computer program;
embellishment of written work;
translations, interpretations, adaptations, anthologies, databases, adaptations, arrangements, modifications and other works of transformation;
translation, adaptation, arrangement, transformation or modification of traditional cultural expressions;
compilations of works or data, whether in a format that can be read by a computer program or other media; and
compilation of traditional cultural expressions as long as the compilation is an original work,

Its copyright protection, whether owned by an individual or a legal entity, is valid for 50 years from the time of announcement.

After the validity period expires and the work becomes public domain, it can certainly be beneficial for its users. One of them is to increase the creativity of various new works inspired by existing works in the past.

KH Contact

Are you a business owner or an artist who has a work and wants to register it with the DJKI? Still confused about the provisions and procedures to take care of it? Kontrak Hukum is ready to help! Kontrak Hukum is the first digital platform in Indonesia that provides the most complete, reliable, and affordable legal services, one of which is IPR registration. No need to worry, because whatever type of work that will be registered as HAKI, everything is available at Kontrak Hukum. The process is also very easy, fast, and efficient, you know! Come on, register your work or business assets as HAKI and feel the benefits by visiting the KH Services – Intellectual Property page. If you have questions about other business needs, please consult for free at Ask KH or via Instagram @kontrakhukum.