It is undeniable that Mickey Mouse became Disney’s King Midas, which is why the historical efforts to ensure that the iconic mouse remains eternally part of the North American company are understandable. However, Disney executives are currently pondering with concern about the upcoming expiration of the first copyright on Mickey Mouse.

And is that the short film Steamboat Willie and, with it, the first appearance of Mickey will lose copyright protection at the end of 2023, and from 2024 they could also lose the exclusivity rights of his animated character. So it will be available for the public domain in the next two years. The cause: the copyright of the famous mouse will expire 95 years after its creation, according to the current law on intellectual property that governs the United States.

The Mickey Mouse that will be in the public domain, only concerns the version that appears in the Steamboat Willie short film and not the design we know today. In other words, anyone can copy, broadcast, reproduce or publicly display the short film and its version of Mickey as of January 1, 2024.

However, because Disney owns the trademark and it does not expire, no one can reproduce the Mickey Mouse image, register it, or sell merchandise that suggests Disney might make it.

Thus, the famous rodent could follow in the footsteps of Winnie the Pooh, whose copyright expired in January and recently became part of the public domain. Since then, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, a horror film, has featured the child character as a serial killer.

While it is true that the public domain of Mickey will allow people to create new narratives of him, if they are too similar to the Disney original, they may still be subject to copyright claims.

Some experts say that Disney is doing everything possible to protect its first version of Mickey. An example is the intro of some animated films where a fragment of Steamboat Willie is shown. This guarantees that the 1928 design would be protected for more years as it is part of the Disney logo.

Finally, adding to this scenario is the bill introduced last May by Republican Senator Josh Hawley, known as the Copyright Clause Restoration Act of 2022. This law limits the duration of copyright to 56 years. Congress grants authorship to corporations. The initiative, according to Hawley, is intended to “open a new era of creativity and innovation” and would apply retroactively to all companies, including Disney.