[Law firm Veat TIP] Mickey Mouse character whose protection period has expired, can I now freely utilize it without Disney’s permission?
Article posted in 2024-01-17 17:43:54 | VEAT
Recently, as reported in the news, the copyright of early versions of Mickey Mouse, which Walt Disney owned, has expired in the United States as of January 1, 2024 (local time). Immediately afterward, horror games utilizing Mickey Mouse have been released, and a string of derivative works (applied works, modified works) utilizing early Mickey Mouse characters has appeared. Notably, the game development company 'Nightmare Forge Games' released a teaser video on SNS for a horror game 'Infestation 88' depicting a grotesque early Mickey Mouse, and it is said that players in the game must wear hazmat suits, operate characters, wander around rooms, kill rats, and escape from Mickey Mouse.
The early version of Mickey Mouse refers to the first Mickey Mouse, the protagonist of the short film 'Steamboat Willie' released in November 1928. Mickey Mouse has undergone many changes over the years since the early version was released. However, the copyright that has expired is for the early version of Mickey Mouse, and the later version of Mickey Mouse, which has undergone changes in appearance, is still under copyright protection, so caution is needed. The current appearance of Mickey Mouse that we are familiar with is the later version.
Then, can we freely utilize the early version of Mickey Mouse, which is not the later version, in our country without permission from Disney? It's not that simple. It is because although the copyright of property has expired, the right of personality may still be alive. Copyright is divided into copyright of property and right of personality, and while the copyright of property is applied for a protection period of 70 years after publication, the right of personality lasts for the lifetime of the author. Even after the author's death, those who use the work must not engage in acts that would amount to defamation as if the author were still alive (Article 14(2) of the Copyright Act). Therefore, even if the copyright property protection period has expired, it is necessary to be careful that acts such as using the Mickey Mouse character in a pornographic movie or depicting Mickey Mouse, who has an image of being good and kind, as a villain, could constitute infringement of posthumous right of personality.
Also, the utilization of Mickey Mouse may violate trademark law or the Act on Prevention of Unfair Competition. Mickey Mouse is registered for trademark in many products. In addition, Article 1(a) of Article 1 of the Act on Prevention of Unfair Competition prohibits acts of using a name, trade name, trademark, container or packaging of a product, or other marks indicating that the product belongs to another, which are widely recognized in the domestic market, or using such marks to sell, distribute, import or export products, causing confusion with other products, and similarly, actions that damage the identification power or reputation of a famous person's mark are also prohibited as unfair competition under Article 1(d) of the same article.
Even if the copyright property protection period has expired, there is a need to carefully check whether the use of the work is in accordance with other provisions of the copyright law as well as other laws other than the copyright law. Many diverse regulations and laws may be involved, so it is safer to seek the advice of a copyright law expert before using the expired work. Law firm Veat's Technology Intellectual Property (TIP) team is a newly established team to provide more professional advice regarding copyright issues that require multi-faceted review, and provides legal consulting services for copyright and intellectual property protection, NFT, metaverse, games, and other emerging technologies, as well as litigation and legal advice regarding copyright, trademark, patent, design rights, and unfair competition law. Led by attorney Oh Seung-jong, who served as chairman of the Copyright Committee, Law firm Veat's TIP team provides strategic approaches to protect clients' intellectual property, resolve legal disputes, minimize legal risks, and help clients effectively utilize their creations.