John Oliver challenges Disney’s Lawyers before Mickey Mouse enters public domain

Image via HBO

It’s not just Flordia’s Government that wants to challenge Disney‘s power. John Oliver fired a shot at the Mouse House’s lawyers during his late-night talk show on HBO, seeing how far the company would go to protect Mickey Mouse before the iconic cartoon character enters the public domain.

During the recent broadcast of Last Week Tonight, Oliver called out Disney for registering Steamboat Willie and the iconic Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse in its trademark to protect its mascot without lobbying for a copyright extension from the government. This comes as a group of Republican lawmakers vowed to not give The Walt Disney Company more protective extensions for Mickey Mouse as a form of punishment, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Oliver decided to see how far Disney’s lawyers would go in order to protect the company’s beloved character, by announcing that a “brand new character” will join his show — a black and white mouse character that looks oddly similar to Mickey Mouse. At the same time, the art style looked slightly different from the original. The host claimed that this character has been appearing during the show’s opening credits throughout the latest season of his talk show.

“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.”

While he didn’t specify where in the credits this character appeared, sharp-eyed viewers might see this copyright-challenging character in the “Ratus Eroticus” section of the intro, located in the painting.

Oliver claimed that he was only doing this to see what Disney’s arguments are if the company decides to sue him, his show, and/or HBO for “improper use of its trademark.”

“We’re only likely to find out what the [arguments are] if and when they sue,”

Mickey Mouse’s debut was in 1928’s Steamboat Willie. This 7-minute short was the first cartoon with synchronized sound and featured the future icon whistling while he controlled an old steamboat. The character was meant to enter the public domain back in 1984, but it was extended thanks to Disney’s lobbying.

Mickey’s scheduled entrance to the public domain will be around the year 2024, meaning that anyone can use the mouse in their projects. However, it seems like he might receive some sort of protection thanks to Trademark Law. So, any similar appearances of the iconic 90+-year-old mouse might be met by Disney’s legal team.