So, when Steamboat Willie becomes public domain next year, what exactly does that mean?
So, when Steamboat Willie becomes public domain next year, what exactly does that mean?
So, when Steamboat Willie becomes public domain next year, what exactly does that mean?
The short film will be in the public domain, but the character will still be trademarked
Trademark is not a substitute for copyright.
Snow White is trademarked too. But any studio can make their own version of The Seven Dwarfs.
Snow White wasn't a concept created by Disney, anon.
As
said, the big thing is that Disney is going to sue the frick out of anyone who tries to use Mickey in anything which is beyond the context of the short.
But on the other hand, you can upload Steamboat Willie to your YouTube account and monetize it, or throw it on one of those cheap public domain DVD compilations and make money off it that way.
>cheap public domain DVD compilations
Any recomendation? Feel like it would be fun to have a DVD with classics
why can't you just use the specific 1920s dimentions of mickey mouse and say it's the steamboat willie mouse
The remaining Disney Oswalds and the first batch of Winkler Oswalds will also be public domain too and yet no one is talking about this.
I guess everyone is waiting until 2026 when Bosko and the very first batch of Warner Bros cartoons becomes public domain, plus the music thats tied to it will also be public domain as well.
Nobody cares about Bosko, and a lot of his cartoons are already in the public domain because WB forgot to renew their copyright
Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising's estate still owns the characters, hence why Bosko and Honey were dogs in Tiny Toons. Besides the black face designs of the 2.
Theres also the 1928 Oswalds that if copies exists for "lost" shorts they can be uploaded to YouTube without issue.
That and the music in these cartoons will enter the public domain, that matters more then the shorts themselves, especially for Warner Bros.
Mickey said "HEY!" in Steamboat Willie when Pete pulls on him to get him away from the wheel.
>HEY
oh yeah he does, although in typical 20's audio fashion it sounds like a EHHH
Months before Mickey said "Hot Dogs".
Which was clearly NOT Walt's voice.
I thought karnival kid was 1929
It was over 8 months after Steamboat Willie.
but steamboat willie came out in 1928...
And Karnival Kid came out 8 months after in 1929.
so it wasn't the first time he talked then
Right, he said "Hey!" in Steamboat Willie.
Mickey Mouse will jump through the screen into the real world, heading your direction.
Start running.
even worse, it will be the 1924 mickey who doesn't speak english and is very small
It means you'll be able to sell the original cartoon without getting sued.
Aside from that, not much will really change, since Mickey Mouse is still trademarked by Disney.
Disney will sue the people who use Steamboat Silly Mickey design then
mick mouse and friends is the only franchise disney has not ruined
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
you can't really go wrong with a literal baby show
Much like Oswald, absolutely nothing
Two people will make “huehue Mickey is PD now” parodies but no one will do shit with him, due to both disinterest and being pussies over potential lawsuits
Mickey is far more mainstream then Oswald.
Also if theres any more lost Disney/Winkler Oswalds they can upload them to YouTube and think nothing of it.
I'm guessing this means you can use a particular instance of the characters in Steamboat Willie and the story.
What
You'll be able to pick it up on the dvd rack at Circle K.
Steamboat Willie? That sounds like fuuuuuun!
Good thing Disney doesn't give a rats ass about Galloping Gaucho, the other 1928 Mickey short.
It means I can draw him getting fricked by Oswald the lucky rabbit and claim it as canon since both are in the public domain
idiot
the funny mouse guy maybe be trademarked, but the actual S.S. Willie will not be, so I will make an animation of it sinking.
Guys, I'm starting to think public domain doesn't actually matter
>Steamboat Willie has been officially/unofficially uploaded on YouTube for years
>It's also officially on Disney Plus
>Studies have shown that people have less understanding of piracy now than any point in history (ie, they're more subservient to brands and routine)
>Hundreds of books are public domain right now, but everybody still choose to buy physical and ebooks
>Disney will always have the trademark for merchandise
>Disney will always be seen as the true and sole owner of Mickey
The only thing that MIGHT happen, is a better scan being released by a 3rd party online. And I don't completely guarantee that, because 1. all the films are probably owned by private collectors/archivists 2. they probably would've already fricking done it by now, Steamboat Willie has existed unofficially online for years
does anyone even own an original reel of these cartoons other than disney?
It's a matter of patience, like with any long running character that has stuff starting to slip into public domain. In about a decade, most of the other important Walt-era Mickey stuff will have lapsed too.
The actual first Mickey cartoons that were created were Plane Crazy and Gallopin' Gaucho, and they were SILENT animations originally. Steamboat Willie was the first to release, because sound films were much more impressive. Plane Crazy and Gallopin' Gaucho released after Disney added sound and music to them.
Racism in cartoons is back on the menu, boys!
>it's racist because it uses a version of a song that used to be a song that was preformed by a blackface minstrel
which, ironically, was in the public domain
Turkey in the Straw isn't necessarily racist. There are blackface versions, but it's also just a regular folk/pop standard in most contexts.
The melody itself was named zip coon, but that was in the 1830's, so it's moronic to say it was deliberate.
The udder-squeezing is considered more innapropriate.
Then we need to catch up. MORE racism!
This is why Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah was removed from all Disney park loops BTW.
The Mickey shorts barely ever had racism.
You know how you can find VHS/DVD's of the Disorder in the Court and Sing a Song of Six Pants episodes of The Three Stooges just about everywhere? Same thing will happen with Steamboat Willie.
No one buys DVD's anymore. Who would buy a DVD for one 7 minute cartoon anyway when it's already free online? Basically further proving
blu ray steamboat willie
you've never seen minnies bloomers as good
Jack fricking shit.
The name Mickey Mouse is still trademarked. you can only use the Steamboat Willie design of Mickey, no red shorts and peach face or Disney comes down on you like a ton of bricks, he can't even talk because the shorts he can do are still under copyright.
Best you can do is upload the videos on youtube without getting copyright striker or put it on a crappy public domain cartoons DVD.
>no red shorts
Nope
First advertisement for Mickey had red shorts.
https://movieposters.ha.com/itm/movie-posters/animation/mickey-mouse-stock-poster-celebrity-productions-1928-one-sheet-27-x-41-/a/7067-83117.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515
>you can only use the Steamboat Willie design of Mickey
no you won't
Disney slapped 20's Mickey on their animation studios logo and made a bunch of cameos specifically so they can point at it and say its integral to their brand identity.
So no, nobody will be allowed to make their own stuff with classic Mick.
Porn.
It's not gonna happen man. People have had years to make Minnie lewd and they have not. It's not going to suddenly start.
why did mickey lose weight
It means that if you happened to own the original cellophane film of the cartoon, you would be allowed to use or copy it as you saw fit.
Good thing Disney doesn't give a frick about Gaucho Mickey.
would people be allowed to make something from the cartoon without disney sueing them? like how people make shit themed off of metropolis or something?
Like the cow or the goat from the cartoon.
Probably.
>what exactly does that mean?
nothing really. Only that you can put the short on it's entirety in your movie or youtube and you won't get shit for it
It means you can release your own shitty bootleg copy of Steamboat Willie on DVD without facing legal repercussions. But if you try to make anything new using the Mickey Mouse character, Disney will sue you out the ass