# Disney to lose Mickey Mouse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [March 1, 2023, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523 "2023-03-01T01:51:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![EnolaStraight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@EnolaStraight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnolaStraight)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/1 "2023-03-01T01:51:06Z")
Creation of the world’s most famous rodent occurred nearly a century ago. According to US Copyright Law, Mickey enters the public domain in 2024 and Disney may lose exclusive rights to it’s famous mascot. [Disney could soon lose exclusive rights to Mickey Mouse | Walt Disney Company | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/03/mickey-mouse-disney-copyright-expiry) ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/2 "2023-03-01T01:53:16Z")
[![](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c2/95/05/c2950560fc35162fc043e721adb9d234--vacation-planner-disney-trip-planner.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c2/95/05/c2950560fc35162fc043e721adb9d234--vacation-planner-disney-trip-planner.jpg) I predict the mouse will have a lively career in AI-animated pornography with a wide variety of ‘partners’. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/3 "2023-03-01T02:04:21Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I predict the mouse will have a lively career in AI-animated pornography with a wide variety of ‘partners’. As it is, Donald Duck doesn’t wear pants. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/4 "2023-03-01T02:24:43Z")
> [@EnolaStraight](#): > > Creation of the world’s most famous rodent occurred nearly a century ago. > > According to US Copyright Law, Mickey enters the public domain in 2024 and Disney may lose exclusive rights to it’s famous mascot. > > [Disney could soon lose exclusive rights to Mickey Mouse | Walt Disney Company | The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jul/03/mickey-mouse-disney-copyright-expiry) Not so. “Steamboat Willie” – Mickey’s first appearance – will go into the public domain. You can take that particular film and use it any way you want as far as copyright is concerned (e.g., show it on your TV station without asking permission or paying anyone). However, any of his films from other years will still remain under copyright (though they will lose it as time goes by). This is complicated by the fact that Mickey is trademarked, even if the film has fallen into public domain. Since Disney owns the trademark, they have to agree to any use of the character by others outside of “Steamboat Willie.” If you try to do a sequel, for instance, Disney will shut you down. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/5 "2023-03-01T02:24:53Z")
I think it’s similar to the recent change in Winnie the Pooh’s status. The earliest portrayal of Mickey Mouse may be entering the public domain, but not later ones. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/6 "2023-03-01T02:27:32Z")
> [@EnolaStraight](#): > > According to US Copyright Law, Mickey enters the public domain in 2024 and Disney may lose exclusive rights to it’s famous mascot. They have fought to delay this, but I think this is the big one. They won’t be able to stop Steamboat Willie going into public domain. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/7 "2023-03-01T03:43:46Z")
Here is Steamboat Willie: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/BBgghnQF6E4/hqdefault.jpg "Walt Disney Animation Studios' Steamboat Willie") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBgghnQF6E4) I had never heard of him before and if I had to guess something Mark Twain wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/8 "2023-03-01T03:50:31Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > They have fought to delay this, but I think this is the big one. They did indeed want to extend the copyright. In 1998. I’ve seen nothing since that indicates Disney thought they ever had a chance of extending it again. Everybody has known this was coming for a quarter century, including Disney. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/9 "2023-03-01T06:36:14Z")
Trademark != copyright. Mickey Mouse is not copyrighted. Mickey Mouse is a character/figure. This cannot be copyrighted. The movies in which he appears are copyrighted. The individual character is not. Disney will not lose Mickey Mouse. People will not be free to make their own Mickey Mouse material. The general confusion between trademark and copyright has been one of my longstanding irritations and a symptom of media illiteracy. It’s dispiriting to see this illiteracy being promoted in a supposedly major news publication. If one reads the story carefully, one notes that it says Disney loses “exclusive” use of Mickey Mouse, which I suppose is defensible, because these earliest cartoons become fodder for remixing. But _only_ the established creations which fall into the public domain are thus available. This headline and its story could be a lot clearer about what’s happening, so people don’t read it and come away with the misunderstanding that “Disney will lose copyright on Mickey Mouse!” Argh. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/10 "2023-03-01T13:59:31Z")
Similar to classical music. Bach was written long before copyright. But, I’ve been told recordings of orchestras performing the music are under copyright. There’s always a gotcha with copyright. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/11 "2023-03-01T14:12:56Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I think it’s similar to the recent change in Winnie the Pooh’s status. The earliest portrayal of Mickey Mouse may be entering the public domain, but not later ones. I assume this means we could then get “Steamboat Willie, Massacre on the Riverside”? ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/12 "2023-03-01T14:13:57Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > I predict the mouse will have a lively career in AI-animated pornography with a wide variety of ‘partners’. I’m certainly far from a Puritan and have nothing against adult porn, but I have to insist that the subjects being viewed be at least remotely sexually attractive. The thought of Mickey Mouse and sex in the same sentence is rather repulsive. LOL ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/13 "2023-03-01T14:35:37Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > I’m certainly far from a Puritan and have nothing against adult porn, but I have to insist that the subjects being viewed be at least remotely sexually attractive. The thought of Mickey Mouse and sex in the same sentence is rather repulsive. LOL Disney characters have been the subject of non-animated cartoon porn for a LONG time. Creators of such stuff don’t feel they have to wait until the elapse of some arbitrary date. And we’re not talking only sleazy underground artists, either. Wally Wood, a famous and highly-regarded cartoonist and comic book artist (he was one of the original artists for Mad) famously create the _Wonderland Orgy_, which you can view at lots of websites, including here: > **[Magic Transistor](https://magictransistor.tumblr.com/post/81824301521/wally-wood-disneyland-orgy-c-1967)** > > Wally Wood, Disneyland Orgy, c. 1967. > **[Clancco » Art Law » Sex, Pornography, and Walt Disney Lawsuits](http://clancco.com/wp/2011/01/parody_trademark_copyright_sex/)** > > The aim of Clancco.com is to explore, investigate, and examine the relationship between art and law. Clancco focuses on the discourses of intellectual property, nonprofit tax-exempt organizations, free speech, and contemporary art. I have no doubt that Disney characters were featured in the infamous “eight pagers/Tijuana Bibles”. And Og knows you can find plenty of sexualized and often explicit Disney stuff on sites like DeviantArt. (Which, despite its name, has plenty of non-deviant amateur artwork) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/14 "2023-03-01T14:39:17Z")
Seek and ye shall find – Disney-themed Tijuana Bibles [http://duckcomicsrevue.blogspot.com/2012/02/disney-themed-tijuana-bibles.html](http://duckcomicsrevue.blogspot.com/2012/02/disney-themed-tijuana-bibles.html) ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/15 "2023-03-01T14:51:44Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Disney characters have been the subject of non-animated cartoon porn for a LONG time. So, that’s a giant mouse in a costume?! That’s supposed to rev my motor? What am I missing? I ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/16 "2023-03-01T14:53:02Z")
Have you been to the internet? There’s something for everyone out there. Rule 34. Or, perhaps more accurately, there are all types of people with all types of kinks out there. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/17 "2023-03-01T15:04:59Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > What am I missing? Apparently, you’re missing a very specific sort of kink. Fear not, I’m sure there are people out there prepared to fill that niche for porn animators. ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/18 "2023-03-01T15:12:08Z")
I believe Paul Krassner made a disneyland orgy awhile back. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/19 "2023-03-01T15:45:57Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > That’s supposed to rev my motor? What am I missing? What revs your motor may or may not rev someone else’s motor, and vice versa. The breadth and depth of the human libido’s imaginative flexibility is nearly boundless. You could almost certainly mad-libs nearly any combination of common terms (“the smell of glass doorknobs pulverized in a Vitamix”) and _somebody_ somewhere would sit forward and say “tell me more.” And, y’know, that’s _fine._ As long as all parties consent and no one is permanently harmed, go ahead and get your motor revved with no shame or judgment. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523/20 "2023-03-01T16:00:09Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > > [@Jasmine](#): > > > > That’s supposed to rev my motor? What am I missing? > > What revs your motor may or may not rev someone else’s motor, and vice versa. I heard she has a sort of a kink for old black and white sci-fi movies. From the thread on the death of the guy who played the Creature From the Black Lagoon: > [@Ricou Browning (Creature from the Black Lagoon) has died](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ricou-browning-creature-from-the-black-lagoon-has-died/980542/4): > > I get off on the old black & white fifties sci-fi movies, I kind of like them too, but not sure we’d like a parody of him getting it on with his victums. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/disney-to-lose-mickey-mouse/980523.md?page=2)