This iconic mouse is weeks away fromn being in the public domain Jan. 1, 2024, is the day when ‘Steamboat Willie’ enters the public domain

  • @[email protected]
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    3210 months ago

    Additionally, even though the copyright is expiring, the trademark is not.

    “You can use the Mickey Mouse character as it was originally created to create your own Mickey Mouse stories or stories with this character,” Daniel Mayeda, associate director of the Documentary Film Legal Clinic at UCLA School of Law, told The Guardian. “But if you do so in a way that people will think of Disney — which is kind of likely because they have been investing in this character for so long — then in theory, Disney could say you violated my trademark.”

    😕

      • FuglyDuck
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        910 months ago

        Disney loves them some lawsuits.

        • @kewwwi
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          510 months ago

          they can’t sue every r34 artist haha

          • @whereisk
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            910 months ago

            They don’t give a shit about any R34 artist. They’ll give a lot of shit if you start to make money, or diminish their brand in any measurable way - aka become popular enough to affect public opinion.

    • bedrooms
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      1510 months ago

      Just draw Mickey Mouse and caption it “This is Pikachu.”

    • Bonehead
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      810 months ago

      So when are we getting a dark Mickey? The dark Winnie The Pooh came out pretty fast after that copyright expired…