Disney is continued on the quantity of Mickey Mouse counts as a public domain

Last year, the appearance of Mickey Mouse in Willie steam boat has become the public domain, inaugurating tons of horror parodies from the iconic Disney mascot. Walt Disney Company has given films such as David Howard Thornton with Howling A pass, but apparently, he thinks that there is a limit to the quantity of other companies that can get away with the use of the emblematic nautical representation of Mickey.

Disney ended up in prosecution after applying her intellectual property rights to his characters in Willie steam boat Against two companies seeking to use Mickey for marketing and retail. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Morgan & Morgan, a law firm for bodily injuries based in the United States, tried to use Willie steam boat In an advertisement, that Disney encountered resistance. ThR also reports that a jewelry company, Sateur, tried to pass Merch with Steamboat Willie as official, this is where legality becomes troubled in Disney’s eyes.

Disney is firm that, despite the short public domain, this does not mean that competitors can affect brands that protect its marks, which, according to them, include various representations of Mickey Mouse, because the character has been iterated for almost a century from the start for a century for almost a century for almost a century since Willie steam boatrelease. The trial stipulates that Disney has history of “aggressive application of intellectual property rights”, illustrated with the “refusal of the company to decline the intention to engage in the application against” Morgan & Morgan and Sateur.

Kelly Klaus, lawyer of the complaint, was cited in the complaint as stating that these companies, in particular, “live the continuous Disney rights in her marks that identify Disney as a source of goods and services and to take advantage of the good will that Disney has built with the public during the decades” and and to enjoy good “As Disney said publicly, while copyright expired on Willie steam boat Motion Picture, Mickey Mouse will continue to play a leading role as a world ambassador for Disney. »»

Morgan & Morgan used the Steamer The versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse in an announcement that sees Mickey crush a steam boat in Minnie’s car, which prompted her to call the injury firm, and at the very least reveal that the video is not associated or approved by Disney. Its use with horror films using the parody is one thing, but that’s another when companies try to pass the character as approving their goods and services. Sateur, on the other hand, seems to fall into this last category, because The Thr Story reports that several consumer complaints have been filed at the Better Business Bureau for the poor quality accessories they misled, thinking that they were Disney official products.

Do you want more iO9 news? Find out when you expect the latest Marvel outings, Star Wars and Star Trek, what is the next step for the DC universe on cinema and television, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.