# Mickey's Mouse Trap (2024) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies, music\ **Created:** [January 9, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857 "2024-01-09T21:38:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/1 "2024-01-09T21:38:58Z")
A whole movie made just to flip the bird to Disney? Really? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/2 "2024-01-09T21:54:33Z")
It’s not the first: > **[Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnie-the-Pooh:_Blood_and_Honey)** > > Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey is a 2023 British independent slasher film edited, produced, written and directed by Rhys Frake-Waterfield. It serves as a horror reimagining to A. A. Milne and E. H. Shepard's Winnie-the-Pooh books and stars Craig David Dowsett as the titular character, and Chris Cordell as Piglet, with Amber Doig-Thorne, Nikolai Leon, Maria Taylor, Natasha Rose Mills, and Danielle Ronald in supporting roles. It follows Pooh and Piglet, who have become feral and bloodthirsty ... I haven’t seen it, but I understand that it’s less about attacking Disney and more about being able to use the beloved character in a way that was previously forbidden. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/3 "2024-01-09T21:54:45Z")
Nah, their primary intention is almost certainly to make money, and it’s probably going to succeed with that. A different group did the same with Winnie the Pooh with “Blood and Honey”, which made enough that the sequel should be out this year sometime with intentions to do some kind of shared cinematic universe featuring other popular children’s entertainment with expired copyright ETA: Ninja’d! ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/4 "2024-01-09T21:54:51Z")
How about a [whole comics page](https://www.gocomics.com/tomthedancingbug/2024/01/05)? ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/5 "2024-01-09T22:02:54Z")
Any actual information about this movie? A link or something? Just from the title, I’m guessing that they’re going to be sued into oblivion, because that’s a pretty clear infringement on IP rights that Disney still holds. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/6 "2024-01-09T22:16:44Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > How about a [whole comics page](https://www.gocomics.com/tomthedancingbug/2024/01/05)? That’s one of the top 10 greatest cartoon mouse adaptations of Lady Chatterley’s Lover that I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/7 "2024-01-09T22:23:48Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Just from the title, I’m guessing that they’re going to be sued into oblivion I’m pretty sure titles are outside the protection of copyright. Here’s a trailer. I looks pretty lawyer-safe to me. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6kKqRUjfH_Y/maxresdefault.jpg "Mickey's Mouse Trap - Official Teaser Trailer (2024) Simon Phillips, Nick Biskupek, James Laurin") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kKqRUjfH_Y) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/8 "2024-01-09T22:34:36Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I’m pretty sure titles are outside the protection of copyright. Yes, and? Copyright isn’t the only sort of intellectual property, and they’re well inside the bounds of trademark. To put it simply: When I saw the title of this thread, my first thought was “Oh, Disney is making a new Mickey Mouse movie?”. Because that’s the natural inclination of someone on seeing that title. The title (deliberately) creates the impression that it’s created by Disney. Which is exactly what trademarks are for. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/9 "2024-01-09T22:39:45Z")
But “Mickey’s Mouse” is not a registered trademark. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/10 "2024-01-09T22:41:57Z")
Trademark-wise, they should be ok. They don’t use “Disney’s Mickey’s” . And they can hardly trademark the name of the character to try to assert property rights to the character by extension. Just as people can’t trademark their own names - and some people have certainly tried to assert this to try to curtail negative press articles. Now, if they use the Disney font (Waltograph) as well, that’d be a different matter - the font would be a visual way of associating the product with the company specifically in a deliberately misleading manner. ETA: Just to note, fictional character names can be trademarked but if the character isn’t entirely owned by the company, as in this case, it can’t be used as a backdoor to maintain total control. Usually it’s a combination of name and likeness that is necessary. If the movie uses a modern Mickey character design - say red shorts even - they’ll be hearing from some lawyers. But that’s highly unlikely to happen. They look like they’re sticking with “Steamboat Willie”, which is the safest way to play it. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/11 "2024-01-09T22:52:52Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > But “Mickey’s Mouse” is not a registered trademark. “Mickey Mouse” is a registered trademark, first registered in 1928. > **[MICKEY MOUSE Trademark of DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC. - Registration Number...](https://trademarks.justia.com/712/66/mickey-71266717.html)** > > MOTION PICTURES REPRODUCED IN COPIES FOR SALE That opens up the issue of “Likelihood of Confusion” in trademark law, which can prevent registration of similar phrases: > [@](#): > > If your trademark is confusingly similar to another trademark and the goods and services are related, consumers are likely to mistakenly believe these goods or services come from the same source. This is known as a likelihood of confusion, and it’s the most common reason for refusing registration. > … > Trademarks don’t have to be identical to be confusingly similar. Instead, they could just be similar in sound, appearance, or meaning, or could create a similar commercial impression. Trademark confusion can in turn be the basis for an action by the holder of the trademark, arguing the other party is infringing the trademark. Not my area of law, but “Mickey’s Mouse” strikes me as something that could raise a likelihood of confusion. > **[Trademark infringement](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trademark_infringement)** > > Trademark infringement is a violation of the exclusive rights attached to a trademark without the authorization of the trademark owner or any licensees (provided that such authorization was within the scope of the licence). Infringement may occur when one party, the "infringer", uses a trademark which is identical or confusingly similar to a trademark owned by another party, especially in relation to products or services which are identical or similar to the products or services which the registr... ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/12 "2024-01-09T22:58:02Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > That opens up the issue of “Likelihood of Confusion” in trademark law, which can prevent registration of similar phrases: I doubt the makers of this film intend to register a trademark. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/13 "2024-01-09T23:00:16Z")
Note, the situation with “Winnie the Pooh” is probably how Disney is going to play this as well. They didn’t do much about “Blood and Honey” and not likely to do much here. Disney also owns that trademark (along with “Roo” and “Eeyore” and “Piglet” among others), though the initial copyright also expired as in this case. But Disney isn’t really testing the waters. They probably think the public backlash is not worth it, especially since they still control more recent versions of the AA Milne characters ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/14 "2024-01-09T23:01:12Z")
Disney can’t use the trademark to maintain total control, because they don’t have the copyright to Steamboat Willie any more. And you can’t use a trademark on a name to stop people from using that trademark to refer to your product, because the whole point of a trademark is that it refers to your product. I could use my DVD burner to make all of the copies I like of the Steamboat Willie movie, and sell them online, advertising it as “Disney’s first Mickey Mouse movie”, and I’d be completely in the clear: I wouldn’t be infringing on copyright, because the copyright is expired, and I wouldn’t be infringing on trademark, because the product I’m referring to is in fact Disney’s product. The fact that you can’t use trademark protection to extend a copyright indefinitely, however, does not mean that you can’t use trademark protection at all once a copyright expires. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/15 "2024-01-09T23:02:21Z")
@Chronos I mean, I guess it’s possible that they’ve been waiting this long to release this movie, but didn’t check with their lawyers about how to do it safely. But that seems unlikely to me. Especially since I would have expected them to have instantly gotten a cease and desist from Disney if they could. When dealing with trademark, they have to defend it. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/16 "2024-01-09T23:02:58Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > The fact that you can’t use trademark protection to extend a copyright indefinitely, however, does not mean that you can’t use trademark protection at all once a copyright expires. True but not really relevant. This production company isn’t exactly trying to confuse people into thinking they’re making a Disney product. They’re also not likely to hear from any lawyers as long as they’re careful, just as in the Winnie the Pooh case. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2024, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/17 "2024-01-09T23:03:02Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > I doubt the makers of this film intend to register a trademark. True, but there is still the possibility of litigation over trademark infringement. Confusion is one of the things that can be used to support an infringement action. ---
**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:** [January 10, 2024, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/18 "2024-01-10T03:35:01Z")
South Park just shoved Mickey in years ago, along with all of Disney’s properties they could find. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/l1hCRBwGAXE/maxresdefault.jpg "South Park Season 23 Episode 2 “Band In China” Clip “SHUT THE F\*CK UP THOR”") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1hCRBwGAXE) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2024, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/19 "2024-01-10T23:32:59Z")
There is also a satire/parody exception of the copyright laws…which South Park is definitely invoking. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2024, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857/20 "2024-01-11T02:50:05Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > say red shorts even Just being pedantic (outside of FQ) The red shorts and yellow gloves should be public domain, because they were shown in a now-public-domain poster from 1928. > **[Mickey Mouse's red shorts have entered the public domain](https://boingboing.net/2024/01/02/mickey-mouses-red-shorts-have-entered-the-public-domain.html)** > > When Mickey Mouse, along with thousands of other pieces of intellectual property, lapsed into the public domain on January 1, 2024, only the 1928 iteration of the property had its… (Not my original thought, and not my conclusion, just passing on something I read on the Internet, but it seems likely to be true, for as much as I know about copyright.) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mickeys-mouse-trap-2024/995857.md?page=2)