Big Win for Mickey Mouse

On January 15, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a law extending copyright protection for a variety of books, songs and movies that would otherwise have passed into the public domain, including that quintessential Disney character, Mickey Mouse.

In its 7-2 decision in Eldred v. Ashcroft, the Court held that Congress did not violate the Constitution in 1998 when it added twenty years of copyright protection to works such as the movies "Casablanca," Gone With the Wind," and "The Wizard of Oz," songs by composer George Gershwin, the poems of Robert Frost (the actual subject matter of the case), and, most important, early portrayals of Mickey Mouse from the 1928 cartoon "Steamboat Willie."

The law, sponsored by the late entertainer/Congressman Sonny Bono (R-Calif.), extended the previous copyright duration periods by 20 years. The duration of copyright protection now runs (1) for natural persons, the author's life plus 70 years, and (2) for corporations, 95 years.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg read the majority decision from the bench. Justices Breyer and Stevens each dissented in separate opinions.