Mickey Mouse (in Steamboat Willie, 1928) is out of copyright…or is he?

Steamboat Willie, a short film made in 1928 that introduced Mickey Mouse to the world, entered the public domain on 1^st January 2024. In theory, anyone can use the original footage.

In practice, it’s not that simple.

On September 17, 2025, Morgan & Morgan, the largest personal injury firm in the US, filed for a declaration against Disney that a planned ad featuring the Steamboat Willie film and its early black and white depiction of Mickey Mouse would not infringe Disney’s rights.

The firm planned to run a tongue-in-cheek ad showing Mickey steering his steamboat into a car crash, after which Minnie hires Morgan & Morgan to represent her. Before running the ad, the firm asked Disney for confirmation that it was ok to do so. Disney said it does not give legal advice to third parties. As a result, the firm took the matter to court and we await the result.

Are public domain works available or not?

Disney holds trademark rights in Mickey Mouse as a brand symbol, logo, and character. Those rights don’t necessarily expire when copyright protection does.

A public-domain work could still be protected if its use might confuse consumers into thinking there’s a connection or endorsement by the trademark owner.

Morgan & Morgan’s ad proclaimed “there is no connection to Disney or Mickey Mouse”, but is that enough to avoid confusion? Is there a parody or comedy/humour exemption that they can take advantage of?

Legal Commentary

The question is how far a public domain exemption goes when a character is also a global trademark or phenomenon, and could influence how other companies use iconic works that recently entered the public domain. In the UK, the characters of Only Fools and Horses were recently judged to be so distinctive that they had acquired their own protectible characteristics. It seems the same logic could be applied to Mickey and Minnie, Winnie the Pooh and Sherlock Holmes, all make-believe characters.

So – even though a work might enter the public domain, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the work is available for use without permission.

For all intellectual property matters please contact our Legal 500-recommended expert Brian Levine at [email protected].