Steamboat Willie is in the public domain! An explainer for public domain Mickey Mouse.
Channel: Casey Fiesler
Date: 2024-01-01

Public domain Mickey Mouse? What does it mean that Disney’s Steamboat Willie is now officially in the public domain? And what is the public domain anyway? A tour through copyright terms in the United States, the history of how they’ve changed and Disney’s role in that, and a look at what the future might hold for Mickey - featuring the potential precedent as Sherlock Holmes, and also a reminder that Mickey Mouse is still trademarked. 

For a text version of this video: https://cfiesler.medium.com/steamboat-willie-is-now-public-domain-but-what-does-this-actually-mean-for-mickey-mouse-b58e578e8741 

Law and cases cited:
Copyright Act of 1909
Copyright Act of 1976
Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (1998)
Eldred v. Ashcroft (SCOTUS, 2003)
Klinger v. Conan Doyle Estate (7th Circuit, 2014)

For more from me on copyright law, with a lengthy fair use explainer, see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2PuntvfN20

And I’ve also been posting videos about public domain Mickey and related topics on TikTok and Instagram @ professorcasey.