Vintage Mickey Mouse Joins the NFT Wave Amid Copyright Expiration

Mickey Mouse Makes Waves in the World of NFTs

 

Expiration of Copyright Opens New Doors

The iconic Mickey Mouse, belonging to the Walt Disney Company, has recently made a significant impact in the realm of Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs). This newfound freedom stems from the expiration of copyright on an earlier version of Mickey, famously seen in the 1928 short film “Steamboat Willie”. In January 2024, this version of Mickey entered the public domain, marking a historic moment in intellectual property.

 

Vintage Mickey Sensation on OpenSea

The Steamboat Willie Mickey, distinguishable from the modern version by his missing gloves, oversized shoes, and small black oval eyes, has become a sensation on OpenSea, a top NFT marketplace. Collections featuring this vintage Mickey dominated the trending lists there.

 

Disney’s Response and Clarification

However, a Disney spokesperson clarified that the company would continue protecting its rights on modern interpretations of Mickey Mouse and other copyrighted properties.

 

The Role of Public Domain and Intellectual Property

Rebecca Tushnet, a Harvard Law School professor, highlighted that the public domain now allows people to reimagine Steamboat Willie without constraints. However, one must be cautious in avoiding replication of elements from the contemporary Mickey, as Disney still holds trademarks on those.

 

Creating New Content Inspired by Steamboat Willie

Tushnet also explained it is essential to create genuinely new content inspired by Steamboat Willie to be protected from copyright infringement claims.

 

Intersection of Beloved Characters and Digital Marketplaces

Despite these limitations, the vintage Mickey’s appearance in the NFT market shows an exciting intersection between beloved, iconic characters and the emerging digital marketplace.

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