Mickey Mouse will become public domain in 2024.
Mickey Mouse may soon haunt our dreams as public domain ownership of his image becomes available in 2024 – you know creatives will soon begin creating horror parodies around his likeness, most likely with comical results.
People love taking childhood imagery and turning it into something disturbing; we’ve witnessed murderous versions of Winnie the Pooh, our fond memories from Monsters Inc. being taken away – although some horror parodies might work, like Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey which was so shocking it actually worked to its benefit!
Simply stated, our memories of Mickey Mouse may soon be irreparably altered.
However, Mickey becoming public domain is more complicated than initially anticipated because only Steamboat Willie’s depictions are going out into circulation instead of modern depictions that we know well.
Disney spokespersons report that contemporary versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of Steamboat Willie copyright, continuing his role as global ambassador of Walt Disney Company storytelling, theme park attractions and merchandise.” They add, however, “we will take necessary precautions in protecting our rights for more modern versions of Mickey and works subject to copyright.”
Disney would also like to remind all creators who use Mickey’s likeness without permission that Disney will work to protect consumers against consumer confusion caused by any unauthorised uses of Mickey and our other iconic characters in films or games.
But developers seeking to capitalize on the comedy of goody-two-shoe characters rarely care about this aspect. Even though a game lasting only an hour may get taken down eventually, we know it will leave an indelible mark online and that its impact won’t fade soon after release.
Ah Mickey. Sweet and innocent Mickey…you are about to become something truly terrifying…
