Disney: The happiest place in the (IP) world?

Nikkie Kitching
Oct 13, 2019
6 min read

Personally, if you’re seeking movie magic in it’s purest form, then I’d suggest to look no further than Disney. As a cinephile and an avid fan of Disney, it’s not surprising there would be a blog dedicated to the home of some of our beloved characters. But behind the scenes, when ideas are in the works, there can be possibilities for creations to clash or legal hurdles along the way.

Let's break it down...

Of course, the bigger the company, the bigger the reputation and therefore the bigger layer of protection that is needed to ensure that none of their work is infringed upon. And with Disney being one of the biggest companies in the world, this comes as no surprise. Disney is an IP cultural hub, ensuring that it has various copyright and trade marks in place.

Under the US law, copyright comes under Copyright Act 1976. Considering that works are created on or after 1 January 1978, then these types of works will be afforded protection for the duration of the author's lifetime plus an additional 70 years. Works of art that have not had copyright protection or whose copyright has expired will fall under what we call the "public domain". Once this happens, it means that any person will be able to use these works of art to their advantage and republish or recreate freely without being accused of copyright. And they can do this without asking for permission from the original rights holders. Disney is notorious for turning to the public domain to create some of their beloved characters. For example, Aladdin was originally taken from "One Thousand and One Nights" which is a collection of Middle Eastern folk tales and Snow White & The Seven Dwarves was adapted from Grimms' Fairy Tales written by the Grimm's brothers.

Trademark law in the US comes under The Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051. In contrast to copyright, trademark law doesn't expire after a period of time. As long as the trademark has been registered by the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) and is still being maintained and used in ordinary commerce, it can be renewed and be used indefinitely. Every ten years when the trademark is renewed, the owner will also need to file a Section 8 declaration which is known as a "Declaration of Use". This is proof that the trademark is still in use. This must be done before the fifth anniversary of the mark's registration but before the sixth month anniversary. Disney is a powerhouse for trademarks; including the words "the most magical place on earth" and the countless logos for films and merchandising.

So how does intellectual property tie in with some of our favourite characters? Let's have a look at some examples which may give us a better idea.

Mickey Mouse

Let’s start with the most notable Disney character, Mickey Mouse. Lovingly known by millions around the world, Mickey Mouse is an icon of pop culture and the character that established the face of Disney. Throughout the years, there have been countless versions of the character, as it has adapted to new technology, giving us versions from black and white to vivid colour.

Some of our older readers will recall that Mickey was first ever shown on 'Steamboat Willie' back in 1928 (picture above). At the time of Steamboat Willie, the Copyright Act 1909 was enforced which allowed for works to be copyrighted for 28 years but then having the ability to be extended for another 28 years, making it a maximum of 56 years before entering the public domain.

Since Steamboat Willie was published back in 1928 it would mean that if we still had the governing law above, it would have expired in 1984 and gone into the public domain. However, in 1976, Congress revised the act into the Copyright Act 1976 which allowed for copyright protection to be extended to 75 years from publication (or the life of the author plus 50 years), meaning that Steamboat Willie would be protected until 2004.

But it didn’t stop there. Congress then passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act which put an extra twenty years of protection on top, meaning that Steamboat Willie will be protected until Jan 1 2024; a year which is fast approaching. Whilst Disney has managed to have luck on its side throughout these years, as soon as 2024 comes around they will either need to persuade Congress to pass another copyright extension or find another way to ensure that it’s beloved characters do not enter into the public domain.

"The Autobots" v 'Cars'

Some millenials may re-call the premiere of a Disney film called Cars. Though it's fairly different to your classic fairy tales like 'Snow White' and 'Cinderella', it managed to gross $60 million in its opening weekend when it was released in 2006. Nine years later, a film called Autobots were released in July 2015. A film which poses striking similarities to Disney's Cars.

Upon discovering the news, Disney filed a lawsuit against Bluemtv and G-Point, the producer and distributor for the film. They were fined $194,000 for infringing upon Disney’s IP rights. They argued that not only are both movie titles similar, but as you can see from the posters of both films, there are clear similarities between the two in terms of design. This is particular uncanny with the colour, eyes and smile. Zhuo Jianrong, director of “The Autobots”, claimed that he had never seen ‘Cars’ and that the idea came to him from real life vehicles themselves. He had also claimed that the entire story is different to that of Cars. Zhuo is looking to the appeal the decision.

Shanghai New Pudong District People’s Court eventually granted in favour of Disney Pixar, basing their decision on “unfair competition”. In intellectual property, this is when a company uses practices, often practices that are wrong in order to deceive the public. In this particular scenario, Bluemtv and G-Point, the producer and distributor for the film substituted their own goods or products for those of another, in this case, creating similar animation traits in order to mislead viewers.

Of course, ‘unfair competition’ is an umbrella term and can vary depending on the type of category and scenario it falls under.

Kimba v Simba

Avid Disney fans will of course be familiar with The Lion King (1994), one of Disney's most beloved animations, grossing almost a billion dollars when it was released in that year. What most fans might not know is that The Lion King is at the heart of a long winded intellectual property dispute. Whilst the release of the new 2019 remake of the film had brought joy to many fans, it had also sparked old thoughts of plagiarism, specifically from Kimba The White Lion.

Japan love their animation, blessing us with anime, manga and other forms of media that have played a significant role in influencing creators and animators. One household name in Japan is Osamu Tezuka who originally created Kimba The White Lion back in 1965, a household anime creator in Japan. It follows the story of Kimba whose father is king of the jungle. His father then gets murdered and Kimba is taken away from the jungle and ends up lost at sea. Kimba eventually finds his way home to the jungle only to find out that another lion, Claw, has taken over. Disney had claimed that the Lion King to them was original content they had created and were not aware of Kimba.

Those in favour of Tezuka’s creation had mentioned strikingly similar features between the two animations; including that of ‘Kimba’ and ‘Simba’, Simba standing on Pride Rock, Simba’s animal friends, …making it more than just a coincidence.

Unfortunately, Tezuka never filed against Disney. Whilst other animators had tried to file petitions against Disney, it ultimately didn't go through. It was also the fact that the Japanese love Disney and didn't want to jeopardise nor anger any future relationships they may have. Tezuka was also known to have have been a huge fan of Bambi which he claimed he had watched countless times. Should the debate still be present in years to come, if Tezuka's living relatives decided to pursue litigation, they may have a strong case on their hands.

Final thoughts

As with everything in the creative sphere, there is always bound to be clashes in ideas; even ideas created by billion dollar companies like Disney.

Disney may have a strong case on their hands if they argue that the only version of Mickey Mouse to expire will be the version shown in 'Steamboat Willie', meaning that later versions of the character, could be claimed under separate copyrights. In addition to this, Disney does also hold Mickey Mouse trademarks. Whatever the outcome, the overall decision will be a big one.

The problem with extending copyright is that it doesn't allow for new inspired works. There are concerns that it hasn't been kind to the creative industry with a number of people dubbing the copyright period too long. Those who had witnessed the extensions of copyright for Mickey Mouse had said that this limits creativity, particularly those who wanted to create similar cartoons to Mickey Mouse but were never able to because of the various extensions.

But the beauty about Disney is not only that they created memorable characters but also that they will fight to protect these characters and ensure that they're history isn't lost throughout the years. Though in a few years some characters may fall in the public domain, it is unlikely that Disney has any prospects of slowing down nor are they likely to give up the fight any time soon.

For more information on Disney, trademarks and copyright, check out the following links below...

Disney: The happiest place in the (IP) world?

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