October 12, 2002
Financial Times
Intellectual freedom fighters take on Disney
by Christopher Parkes
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"All creativity stands on the shoulders of the past," he said, adding "most ironically" how Disney "made its fortune" using public domain works by the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen.
Arguably even more ironic is that the origins of Disney's success lie in an animated film and a character - Steamboat Willie, featuring Mickey Mouse - cooked up in 1928 from an eclectic selection of ideas, technology, music and characterisation borrowed, drawn from the public domain, or otherwise appropriated by the company founder.
The inspiration was Steamboat Bill Jr,a Buster Keaton comedy, adjudged "rather flat" by critics of the time. The action was synchronised to old tunes including Turkey in the Straw. Mickey Mouse's character was based on Charlie Chaplin. Uncle Walt provided the squeak.
Two earlier silent Mickey Mouse films had failed. But the element that drove the film's success and launched today's multi-billion-dollar animated film industry was the high-tech innovation of the age: sound. That came courtesy of Cinephone, a sound system pirated from others' patents.
Before the end of 1929, another 15 Mickey Mouse cartoons had hit the screens; modern film character merchandising was born when Walt accepted $300 in return for allowing the mouse's likeness to be printed on writing pads. Mickey Mouse clubs sprang up across the country, and had 1m members by 1931.
As a trademark, the Mouse remains under Disney control in perpetuity. But he is much more than that to the company. He represents its clean-living credo, and figures in every aspect of its business, from theme parks to publishing and even its corporate architecture.
Thanks in large part to Mr Eisner, the Bono act averted the dilution of Disney's control over its films which was due to start with the passage of Steamboat Willie into the public domain at the end of next year. Further stretching a 19-year extension in 1978, according to Lawrence Lessig, a law professor from Stanford University, it amounted to nothing less than "perpetual copyright on the instalment plan".
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