Characters that were part of the childhood of several children over the last 90 years have entered the public domain; find out what they were!
The year has already begun by transforming Mickey Mouse into a killer! This is because the 1928 short “Steamboat Willie” entered the public domain in the United States on the first day of 2024, making the classic Disney character appear far from his cute characteristics when he was included as a villain in two new works: the film “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” and the game “Infestation 88”.
But, what is a Public domain?
When stating that a work has entered the public domain, we are saying that copyright, that is, the restriction on the legal use of intellectual, artistic works and scientific creations no longer exists, therefore, reproducing, distributing, adapting or publishing these productions is possible without requiring legal authorization.
In the case of Mickey, it means that The Walt Disney Company lost the right to be the only company to release films, series, animations and collectibles with the image of Mickey Mouse seen in the short “Steamboat Willie”, even though the company fought to extend the period of ownership over the character by copyright law.
This happens because, as explained by Galileu magazine, when “Steamboat Willie” was released, the legislation argued that the story would enter the public domain 56 years after its debut, that is, in 1984, but the deadline was changed several times at Disney’s request, even generating a permanent change in the law in 1998, when an act of Congress established the current limit, which is 95 years.
Detail: The movement that made the change possible had great movement on the part of Disney, causing the law to be called the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act”.
Still, it is not just Mickey who will have his image exploited by other companies, as other well-known characters in the world of animation entered the public domain this year. We’re talking about Minnie, Tigger and Peter Pan!
Minnie
Like her partner, Minnie was also able to appear in different productions from the beginning of this year. The character appeared alongside Mickey in the short “Steamboat Willie”, thus completing 95 years of release.
It is worth remembering that the company founded by Roy It is Walt Disney still owns the rights to the most recent version of Goofy’s best friend and his beloved, so the new stories will be able to portray the characters only with the look seen in the short being reproduced: without white gloves, and with small, oval-shaped eyes and without pupils.
big tiger
Also popular among Disney productions, Tigger entered the public domain this year! The version in question refers to the original seen in the book that introduced the character: in the second book in the series, Winnie the Pooh Builds a House, by Alan Alexander Milnereleased in 1928.
This will be the second character of Milne to have its image and story free from copyright, since in 2022, Winnie the Pooh became the first, even appearing in the horror film “Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey” (2023).
Peter Pan
Finally, we have the boy who never grows up: Peter Pan! The character in the theatrical version created by JM Barrie was released in 1904, but it only entered the public domain in the United States in 2024, that is, almost 120 years later.
The explanation for the extended deadline was granted by Jennifer Jenkinsdirector of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University School of Law, in the United States, on the institution’s website (via Galileu).
The play’s script was not ‘published’ for copyright purposes until 1928, delaying the expiration of its copyright until 2024.”
Source: Recreio
