On January 1, 2024, the short film “Steamboat Willie” (1928), which introduced the iconic Mickey Mouse character, and the animation “Plane Crazy” (1928), both authorship by Walt Disney, became public domain under US law. As of this date, both the animations and the first versions of the Mickey and Minnie characters can be adapted, copied, and used freely by anyone interested.
It should be remembered that Brazil, unlike the United States, which adopts a model known as copyrights (a model whose protection deals with the work itself), adopts the droit d’auteur (author’s right) model, in which the moral and property rights of authors are protected.
In this scenario, according to Brazilian Law 9.610/98 ("Copyright Law"), the deadline for the protection of works is 70 (seventy) years, and it starts period depends on the type of work:
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General rule: January 1st of the year following the author’s death;
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Literary, artistic or scientific work produced by undivided co-authorship: January 1st of the year following the death of the last surviving co-author;
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Anonymous or pseudonymous works: January 1st of the year immediately following that of first publication;
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Audiovisual and photographic works: January 1st of the year following their publication.
Both the short films "Steamboat Willie" and "Plane Crazy" and the Mickey Mouse character are not yet considered works in the public domain in Brazil, which should happen within the next 10 (ten) years.
In any case, given the repercussions of the issue last January, it’s worth questioning:
Passed this deadline, how can authors ensure that their works are protected?
Up front, it is important to note that the 70-year limitation period only applies to the property rights of the work and therefore does not apply to the moral rights, i.e. those related to their personality, such as the right to claim authorship of a work and/or to withdraw it from circulation, which can be exercised and guaranteed by the heirs and the State, the latter even for works that have become public domain.
Also, if the work is trailed to a product and/or service provided by the author, its protection can be maintained by filing an application for trademark registration, as Walt Disney did in relation to the short film "Steamboat Willie" and the first versions of the Mickey Mouse character, which currently have their trademarks duly registered with the competent authorities. Thus, once the application for registration has been granted, the titleholder of the trademark will have the right to exclusive use of the registered sign for the product/service for which they registered their trademark and without a limitation period, unlike copyright.
Our Intellectual Property team is available to answer any questions on the subject.
