Why did Disney lose Mickey Mouse? Public domain horror announcements spark wild reactions online

On Monday, January 1, 2024, an early version of Disney’s iconic character Mickey Mouse entered the public domain after The Walt Disney Company’s copyright expired after 95 years. An official release by Walt Disney World reads as follows:

“Under U.S. Copyright Law for works published or registered before 1928, Disney will no longer own the rights to the character, and the work will become public domain.”

According to Business Insider, this version of Mickey first appeared in 1928 in Disney’s short film Steamboat Willie, with a cylindrical sailor cap, rodent-like nose, long tail, and small pupil-less black eyes. However, he did not wear the oversized shoes or the gloves that we see in modern-day Mickey Mouse.

As soon as the news of Mickey Mouse entering the public domain went viral, the internet was bombarded with the announcement of the iconic animated rodent featuring in an upcoming horror movie as well as a horror game. In this regard, netizens have been sharing their wild reactions to the latest news from the multinational mass media and entertainment company.

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Internet reacts to Mickey Mouse featuring on horror ventures, as the Disney character loses its copyright

As of January 1, 2024, one of Mickey Mouse’s earliest versions that featured in the 1928 Steamboat Willie is free to use, as The Walt Disney Company lost its copyright after nearly a decade. Here’s what a spokesperson for Disney told CNN in a statement:.

“More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright, and Mickey will continue to play a leading role as a global ambassador for the Walt Disney Company in our storytelling, theme park attractions, and merchandise.”

The representative also added that the company would “continue to protect” its rights in the “more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works” that remain subject to copyright. They continued by saying how Disney would try to “safeguard against consumer confusion caused by unauthorized uses of Mickey and our other iconic characters.”

Since the news of Mickey’s entry into the public domain emerged online, announcements have been made about a certain co-op horror game dubbed Infestation 88, where players will allegedly be hunted down by this version of Mickey Mouse.

Likewise, the first look and poster of an alleged new Mickey Mouse horror movie called Mickey’s Mousetrap are also doing the rounds on the internet. Following these announcements, social media users have had hilarious reactions. Here are some of them.

It is noteworthy that Mickey from Steamboat Willie is not the only Disney character that has entered the public domain in recent years. Earlier, in 2022, an earlier version of Winnie the Pooh also became free to use and even became the protagonist of the low-budget slasher film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

Winne the Pooh’s beloved sidekick Tigger also entered the public domain last year. Versions of Little Mermaid and Cinderella are also available in the public domain, according to Financial Express.

For those unaware, public domain means that a particular work no longer needs permission to be copied or used by anyone other than the copyright holder. A work becomes free to use when it is ineligible for copyright or is simply past its expiration.

Rebecca Tushnet, a Harvard Law School professor, told CNN in this regard that Mickey can only be used by the public if it is based on its Steamboat Willie avatar to avoid copyright infringement.