John Oliver Tests Disney’s Lawyers By Staking Claim On Mickey Mouse Ahead Of ‘Steamboat Willie’ Version Entering Public Domain

deadline.com:

John Oliver was back at it again on his HBO Max late-night show Last Week Tonight and is testing Disney lawyers introducing Mickey Mouse as his new mascot.

The last segment of his show focused on intellectual property reminding viewers that Disney was about to lose their copyright on the original Mickey Mouse character from Steamboat Willie after 95 years. “Mickey Mouse will soon be public property in the U.S.

which is a big deal because this copyright is a closely guarded corporate treasure,” Oliver said. Oliver mentioned that Disney had been aggressive in guarding the copyright of Mickey and was successful in passing a bill in the early 2000s that extended their protection.

The host also pointed out that Disney has some registered trademarks that include the original Steamboat Willie Mickey, speculating that as the reason they included that version in the Walt Disney Animation Studios opening logo. “It does feel like a tactical legal move,” Oliver added. “Basically, they may argue that this early Mickey’s image is so closely associated with their company that people automatically assume that any image of him was produced or authorized by them and still take legal action.” Oliver continued, “The fact is anyone wanting to use the Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse will probably still be taking a risk but if you know anything about this show by now, we do like to take a risk every now and then.” The late-night host then introduced “a brand new character for this show” in the form of a black and white Mickey Mouse.