Appearance in Horror Movies and Horror Games
With the expiration of the copyright on the early version of Mickey Mouse, one of Walt Disney's characters, a flood of derivative works emerged. As if waiting only for the copyright to expire, movies and games appeared one after another, sparking controversy with content depicting Mickey Mouse as a murderer or exterminating Mickey Mouse. Disney immediately announced plans for legal battles.
On the 1st (local time), the trailer for the horror movie "Mickey's Mouse Trap," featuring the Mickey Mouse character, was released on the American film database site IMDB. This day marked the transition of the copyright for the original Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in 1928, into the public domain after 95 years. From this day forward, anyone can freely use the original Mickey Mouse without the copyright holder's permission.
Released to coincide with the copyright expiration date, "Mickey's Mouse Trap" depicts Mickey Mouse playing a game against the protagonist and his friends on the protagonist's 21st birthday. The trailer includes several scenes from the first silent animation "Steamboat Willie" (1928), where Mickey Mouse first appeared, and Mickey Mouse is shown wearing a killer mask.
A game borrowing the copyright-expired Mickey Mouse has also appeared. The horror game "Infestation 88," released on the game distribution platform Steam, features exterminating Mickey Mouse, who has turned into a swarm of rats, using firearms.
The copyright-expired Mickey Mouse is limited to the original black-and-white Mickey Mouse. The modern Mickey Mouse, wearing red shorts and white gloves, is still under Disney's copyright. Despite Mickey Mouse still being Disney's mascot, as content that harms childhood innocence by using the original Mickey Mouse floods the market, Disney responded immediately. In an interview with AFP on the 29th of last month, Disney stated, "We will strive to prevent consumer confusion caused by unauthorized use of the Mickey Mouse character."
Earlier, ahead of the copyright expiration of "Steamboat Willie," Disney issued a statement saying, "We will continue to protect our rights to more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other copyrighted works, and we will work to prevent consumer confusion caused by unauthorized use of Mickey and other iconic characters."
A similar case is Winnie the Pooh. As soon as the copyright expired in 2022, horror movies and horror games featuring Winnie the Pooh flooded the market. However, these works caused controversy due to their poor quality and the unpleasant distortion of the character.
In addition to Mickey Mouse this year, the copyrights of various artistic works, including the play "Peter Pan," will expire. Even if copyrights expire, trademarks can be renewed indefinitely, so there is a possibility of legal battles.
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