Happy Public Domain Day! I’m sure everybody’s heard about how the original Ub Iwerks designs of Mickey Mouse have entered the Public Domain. Not just Steamboat Willie, but his actual debut Plane Crazy (the totally silent version) and Gallopin’ Gaucho. Him as well as Minnie, Disney’s first character with voiced dialogue (a talking parrot), and a drunk ostrich.
…Wait what?
How am I supposed to know it was a rhea? Iwerks didn’t make distinctions.
Now you’re probably wondering who Ub Iwerks is. Ub Iwerks is actually the artist who designed a lot of the characters Walt Disney is famous for. From Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Pete (both the Bear and later Cat designs), to Clarabelle Cow. He was the co-director to a number of these early films. Walt meanwhile was the producer and voice actor for a number of sound effects. So the next time you see the designs, remember everybody involved.
Because the more iconic redesign of Mickey doesn’t enter public domain for another decade.
But enough about behind-the-scenes drama, we’re here to talk about who else entered the public domain. Some like the above Oswald, Pete, and Clarabelle have a few years on Mickey.
As did their main competition Felix the Cat. As of 2024, Felix’s entire silent film career is in the public domain! So while you can’t use the one with the magic bag, you can use the one who speaks in word balloons and detaches his tail to shape into different objects.
Trademarks are funny like that.
Public Domain in America, Not Everywhere Else
Now here’s a thing people will be into. There are some characters and concepts that got into the US public domain before their own countries. For example, Winnie-the-Pooh and Piglet got this treatment in 2021; this year they’re joined by Tigger. The original writer A.A. Milne died in 1956 and British copyright law states that everything they created enters the public domain 70 years after their death. Layman’s terms, everybody’s gotta wait until 2027 for the entirety of Winnie-the-Pooh characters and plots. Except for the illustrations which come in 2047 since the artist E.H. Shepard died in ‘76.
But by that same logic, a few other foreign characters can be used in the US. Some are the iconic, like Argentine comic character Patoruzu. Which is really saying something considering this character’s creator lived until 2003. Plus I don’t think there can be any official translations without telling who has the Argentine copyright.
Meanwhile the magazine Le Petit Vingtieme’s first year is now in the public domain. But it’s crowning achievement The Adventures of Titin debuted the next year. And his creator died in 1983. So something to look forward to.
Here’s To Another Year
Anything else is up for debate because filing for copyrights are funny like that. Stuff like plays, operas, sculptures, poems, radio programs, and paintings might not have had corporations around to keep copyrights going before extensions. Unlike books and films which are easier to keep track of.
What extensions?
It’s a lot.
Honestly, the ones who don’t have to deal with it are the lucky ones.
All that I can tell you is that any if ever of Lovecraft’s estates can’t make a claim on Call of Cthulhu. Just ask J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan in America.
More headaches to come.