What can you do with Steamboat Willie, early in the next year?

I won’t try to write a filk about it just now; answering the question is complicated enough in prose. You may have heard that “Mickey Mouse is going into the public domain,” but that’s true only in a limited sense. The first two released Mickey Mouse cartoons, Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy, will enter the public domain on January 1, 2024, after 95 years. If you’re thinking of creating your own cartoons, drawings, fan fiction, or professional fiction based on them, you can do that legally, but you need to be careful. Mickey Mouse changed significantly over the years, and later versions of him, along with the vast majority of his cartoons, are still under copyright protection. In addition, Mickey Mouse™ remains a Disney trademark. If your work steps over certain bounds, you could hear from Disney’s lawyers.

Duke University’s website has a detailed article on what you can and can’t do. It’s not a substitute for a lawyer’s advice, but it’s a good place to start, and it could be enough if you aren’t creating stuff for profit.

Some key points, as I understand them:

• Starting January 1, you can show those two cartoons anywhere you want. They’re sure to show up in the Internet Archive.
• However, if Disney releases an enhanced version, it will be under copyright, and you’ll need a license to show it.
• If you represent Mickey visually, avoid a close imitation of any versions that appeared later and are significantly different from the 1928 mouse.
• Avoid any suggestion that your work is authorized by Disney. A disclaimer may be wise.
• Using material from later Disney cartoons, which are still in copyright, could lead to trouble. An example would be including Donald Duck alongside Mickey.
• Satires and parodies may be considered fair use of copyrighted material, if they offer substantial commentary on the original.
• Trademark law prohibits the use of a trademarked term, such as the name Mickey Mouse, only if it “is likely to cause confusion, or to cause mistake, or to deceive.” In practice, though, copyright lawyers often make spurious claims that are uneconomical to fight. HBO, for example, has been outrageously aggressive in claiming violations of its “Winter Is Coming” trademark. (I’m pretty sure it’s not George R. R. Martin’s fault.)

Be cautious, and look for trustworthy information before skirting the edge of intellectual property law.

Update: I’ve learned that in Germany, and perhaps in other EU countries, the copyright runs till 70 years after the death of the last surviving creator. This means Steamboat Willie (Dampfboot Wilhelm?) stays in copyright there till 2041, 70 years after Roy Disney’s death.

And what the hell, I’ll do that filk after all. To the tune of “What Do You Do with a Drunken Sailor”:

What can you do with Steamboat Willie, (3x)
Early in the next year?

Put him together with a cat named Felix…