The Right to Copy Mickey

Lucerne, 2023. A SALI Production collaboration work with Sara Borling

In 2024 Mickey Mouse copyright will expire and enter the public domain. Mickey Mouse had its first public appearance in the short animation of Mickey Mouse: Steamboat Willie which was released in the year 1928. Originally Steamboat Willie was inspired by Buster Keaton’s silent comedy film “Steamboat Bill, jr.” which was released earlier in the same year.

Mickey Mouse should’ve been in Public Domain in the year 1998, but The Walt Disney Company lobbied for a copyright extension, and it resulted in Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act or nicknamed Mickey Mouse Protection Act to extend the copyright length from 75 years to 95 years after the work published. Since then, it froze the expiration dates of works to get into Public Domain in the United States. The Walt Disney company has been very protective with its characters and in recent years since the mid-2000s they acquired several big entertainment studios and their characters as well.

This also raises the question of when a work of art becomes a part of culture that can be used by the public and is no longer the intellectual property of a private person or institution. This is particularly controversial when the author or creator is already deceased. The extension of copyright hinders the natural cultural evolution in which new things emerge from old works.

We 3D scanned a Steamboat version of Lego Mickey Mouse and printed the scan with a 3D Printer. We scanned the printed version and repeated this step. This process continued until Mickey Mouse wasn't recognizable anymore. Over time it transformed into something new. With this very straightforward and analytical process we want to show where the fine line of copyright begins and ends.

A LEGO figure of Steamboat Mickey and eight 3D printed ABS figures on a light desk. A video on the Monitor.