Steamboat Willie is in the public domain! An explainer for public domain Mickey Mouse.

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: / steamboat-willie-is-no...
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: • Fair Use in the Omegav...
And I’ve also been posting videos about public domain Mickey and related topics on TikTok and Instagram @ professorcasey.

Пікірлер: 70

  • @iam-py-test
    @iam-py-test7 ай бұрын

    Awesome explanation of the public domain and Steamboat Willie. Thank you

  • @TonyOkumura
    @TonyOkumura7 ай бұрын

    I love how the entire cartoon played and now KZread and Disney can’t do anything about it!

  • @UsefullPig

    @UsefullPig

    7 ай бұрын

    You know KZread would be perfectly happy to not be required to enforce copyright law right?

  • @thiscat9712

    @thiscat9712

    7 ай бұрын

    Disney still claimed me

  • @ranelgallardo7031

    @ranelgallardo7031

    7 ай бұрын

    @@UsefullPigthey can’t now

  • @jcblocka7477

    @jcblocka7477

    7 ай бұрын

    ​@@ranelgallardo7031 KZread can take any video down as they please.

  • @freedombaby64
    @freedombaby647 ай бұрын

    Them Mickey Mouse AI posters finna go crazy

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    There's already a model! huggingface.co/Pclanglais/Mickey-1928

  • @paologalvez7555
    @paologalvez75557 ай бұрын

    For the love of god, I swear that when i read the title i see "Domain expansion" only for that i give You a like

  • @republicansarepedos2

    @republicansarepedos2

    7 ай бұрын

    Malevolent Kitchen!

  • @ak79999
    @ak799997 ай бұрын

    Great video!

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @denholmspurr7211
    @denholmspurr72117 ай бұрын

    Really enjoyed your explanation of public demand in and the history of Disneys dependence on it but I still don’t quite understand how trademark law interacts with steamboat Mickey, which is the most complicated part! Can you direct to any good explanations of how this works in practice?

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    This is the best discussion of this I've seen! web.law.duke.edu/cspd/mickey/

  • @stitchfan_8290
    @stitchfan_82907 ай бұрын

    About the gloves. Although mickey is not wearing gloves in the cartoon, he is in the title card and end card. As they are part of the cartoon as a hole wood that not clear it for copyright?

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    Oh interesting! I actually didn't notice that. :) Great question.

  • @Acermani456
    @Acermani4567 ай бұрын

    What about Kimba the White Lion? The copyright expired years ago for Kimba. I get the whole trademark thing, but what about the modern day version of Kimba? What if somebody to make a Kimba the White Lion movie? Like, for example like Sony, Paramount or even Warner Bros?

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    Hmmm are you sure the copyright expired? I just looked it up and it looks like Kimba originated in the 1950s?

  • @MrJoshinJosh
    @MrJoshinJosh9 күн бұрын

    I’ll be glad once The Mickey Mouse Club will enter The Public Domain despite the fact that I have to wait at least 26 more years for that to officially happen😐

  • @TevyaSmolka
    @TevyaSmolka7 ай бұрын

    Question how do you upload this short without getting copyright claimed just wondering?

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    Well in my case, ContentID isn't flagging it because the original sound isn't loud enough.

  • @TevyaSmolka

    @TevyaSmolka

    7 ай бұрын

    @@CaseyFieslerPhD ah so if the sound is super low and i put my own commentary it could go through or maybe not get blocked in other territories.

  • @Bobzilla2023
    @Bobzilla20237 ай бұрын

    Now here’s my question. In our own works are we leagally allowed to still call/name out version of the character “Mickey Mouse”? Or do we have to change his name up a bit to prevent and stop trademark infringement?

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    This is an excellent question that I am not willing to answer. :)

  • @Bobzilla2023

    @Bobzilla2023

    7 ай бұрын

    @@CaseyFieslerPhD dang. Ok. Thank you for responding tho, I guess not everyone knows about trademarks.

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    I mean I have an answer but I suspect it would be different than what Disney’s lawyers would say and I try not to say things that might be interpreted as legal advice.

  • @Bobzilla2023

    @Bobzilla2023

    7 ай бұрын

    @@CaseyFieslerPhD Understood. My apologies. Thank you very much.

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    @Bobzilla2023 no problem at all! It is a good question.

  • @RocKnight11
    @RocKnight116 ай бұрын

    Does this mean Mickey Mouse (the Steamboat Willie version) could be a DLC character in Mortal Kombat?

  • @R3valv3r
    @R3valv3r7 ай бұрын

    The usage of this particular mouse in this particular fashion is free. While all characters and sounds used in this year of steamboat willie and video are also free to use? Everything in this video is good to use under public domain?

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    The entirety of this video is no longer protected by copyright.

  • @cartergamegeek

    @cartergamegeek

    6 ай бұрын

    But you will face trademark charges as Disney has a few flags over using some of the film as a logo and as other brand ID markers. So as we iron out this dumb use of trademark law you might get a few auto flags on KZread or other take downs until Disney is kind of forced to stop using trademark to bypass the copyright going away. So watch it with the uses as people are getting flagged over trademarks when the work is public and should be safe.

  • @R3valv3r

    @R3valv3r

    6 ай бұрын

    @@cartergamegeek that’s interesting 🧐 I appreciate your input.

  • @iliketoanimate_
    @iliketoanimate_7 ай бұрын

    I don't understand something, I recently remade the entirety of steamboat willie in a retro video game style and was publishing it today, but I couldn't post it to KZread because it has copyright material, but it doesn't anymore, everyone else is posting it with no editing or anything and it's not being taken down, am I doing something wrong??

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    What kind of copyright violation? If ContentID flagged it, it should tell you exactly what the copyrighted material was and who claimed it.

  • @iliketoanimate_

    @iliketoanimate_

    7 ай бұрын

    It doesn't all I get is "Video is blocked in some territories for copyright material"@@CaseyFieslerPhD

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    Well copyright terms are different in different countries so it’s possible YT is already making that distinction.

  • @christopherknight1890
    @christopherknight18907 ай бұрын

    if the supreme court ruled that the limit is whatever congress wants could they vote to shorten it?

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    Yep!

  • @Alex-wo1bs
    @Alex-wo1bs7 ай бұрын

    Animation won today🎉🎉😐🎉

  • @MickeyloverMelvin

    @MickeyloverMelvin

    7 ай бұрын

    No animation lost today. People with no creativity stealing other people's work.

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    @MickeyloverMelvin I mean if that’s the case then your statement applies ten fold to Disney.

  • @gablit-gt8kk
    @gablit-gt8kk7 ай бұрын

    I want to time travel

  • @Cartoonicus
    @Cartoonicus7 ай бұрын

    So how does "Plane Crazy" fit into this? Was it just never copyrighted?

  • @SandwitchZebra

    @SandwitchZebra

    7 ай бұрын

    Silent Plane Crazy is public domain. The version with sound is still out of our reach until next year

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    The commenter below is correct! Though also my understanding is that the silent version of Plane Crazy wasn't distributed (just to test audiences) so Steamboat Willie was the first appearance of Mickey Mouse that was released.

  • @Cartoonicus

    @Cartoonicus

    7 ай бұрын

    @@CaseyFieslerPhD If that's the case, then Steamboat Willie might actuall be the first Mickey cartoon,after all, if it means they did't actually release Plane Crazy until AFTER Steamboat Willy was released. I always thought Disney just didn't want to aknowledge it's existnce, but now I wonder.

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    @@Cartoonicus Yes, that's my understanding. Plane Crazy was made first but Steamboat Willie was released first.

  • @cartergamegeek

    @cartergamegeek

    6 ай бұрын

    @@CaseyFieslerPhD Plane Crazy was hated and nobody wanted to invest in making more films using the character. Steamboat Willie was to try mixing sound and animation and everybody loved it so Steamboat Willie was the first film they charged for.

  • @Nekotaku_TV2
    @Nekotaku_TV27 ай бұрын

    What about the song in the film? Just got a copyright restriction on that part.

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    Altogether, or just for certain countries? In any case, in the U.S. the whole thing is out of copyright protection, yes. But it's possible ContentID is still flagging the sound.

  • @Nekotaku_TV2

    @Nekotaku_TV2

    7 ай бұрын

    @@CaseyFieslerPhD For certain countries.

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    Steamboat Willie is public domain in the US but not everywhere.

  • @michaellong2439
    @michaellong24397 ай бұрын

    is this video getting claimed for you? ive heard a few people that have gotten Steamboat Willie claimed by Disney in the last day.

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    No, but ContentID is typically based on sound.

  • @turnonmyaxel
    @turnonmyaxel7 ай бұрын

    Hi, I've seen a lot of people say stuff like "Put Mickey on a t-shirt!!!! It's your legal right" u sourced when a couple articles are saying that's legally dicey. Has this come up in your research do you know if we can sell steamboat Willie t-shirt or is disney trademark covered by that (which I think it is)

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    This is the best discussion of this issue I've seen (near the bottom, "What about Disney’s trademark over Mickey?"): web.law.duke.edu/cspd/mickey/

  • @cartergamegeek

    @cartergamegeek

    6 ай бұрын

    Guy in Canada sold a monochrome Mickey shirt and got away with it so you can get away with it if you do it right. He had a shirt that had color get flagged but as soon as the color was removed they let him sell it.

  • @StormDiper
    @StormDiper7 ай бұрын

    W video

  • @raisinbran1001
    @raisinbran10016 ай бұрын

    Does this mean the whistle is free for anyone to use as well? In music for example?

  • @cartergamegeek

    @cartergamegeek

    6 ай бұрын

    That was a remix of a public song so first off when they used it they used a public domain song at the time. But because the film 100% public now all sounds in it are fine other than the fact Disney used that song as a logo so don't try using it as a logo and when trademark flags go off we all need to try and fight the fact that the film is public and the audio in it is a packaged deal. Slow burn for now as we deal with the fact that the whole film is public but parts are trademarked for logos Disney has so they are trying to keep the rights by tossing around trademarks when the copyright is now up.

  • @TJTaylorVR
    @TJTaylorVR7 ай бұрын

    Was the creepypasta su!c!de mouse illegal then or am I dumb?

  • @CaseyFieslerPhD

    @CaseyFieslerPhD

    7 ай бұрын

    I don't know what that is! But it's entirely possible it was fair use.

  • @tilldream8622

    @tilldream8622

    7 ай бұрын

    For context: I think it's a made up Creepypasta story about a "Lost Mickey Mouse Cartoon" that lasts for around 9 minutes of screentime. At first it's a loop of mickey walking in the sidewalk of a ghost town for a few minutes before the screen cuts to black for a bit before later cutting back to mickey walking again, only to slowly be overwhelmed by noises of agony and screaming that are heard in the background. as the recording continues to get darker, mickey starts running faster and faster until mickey simply just died. And it's said that the executive that watched it simply just [Y'know the rest] "Btw this is fictional and that none of this really happened."

  • @TJTaylorVR

    @TJTaylorVR

    7 ай бұрын

    @@tilldream8622 Thanks for the explanation

  • @brandonstevens300
    @brandonstevens3007 ай бұрын

    Good luck monetizing it. KZread is still copyright demonetizing it.