​The World of Pooh is free (but not everywhere – yet)

The Disney billion dollar Winnie the Pooh franchise just ran out of honey!
 
According to US copyright law, anyone will be able to republish or adapt any work published on or before 1926 (i.e 95 years ago) without needing to pay the author’s estate or even seek their permission. Ryan Reynolds has already noticed this apparently, using it to highlight his dispute with Disney. 

Photo courtesy of Annie Spratt on Unsplash

According to UK copyright law the same is true but not until 2026 i.e. 70 years after the author’s death - the author AA Milne died in 1956.
 
Disney still retains rights to Milne’s books published after 1926, as well as the trademark to the words “Winnie-the-Pooh” in branded books and products. They also own exclusive rights to colour renditions of Winnie-the-Pooh characters featured in films, books, and merchandise after 1926.
 
Disney has a reputation for pushing back public domain deadlines. With their claims to Steamboat Willie, the first film starring Mickey Mouse, looming, they successfully lobbied US Congress to extend copyright protection on two occasions. The Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 which protects a corporation’s copyright over the span of 95 years from the original publication date, is also known as “The Mickey Mouse Protection Act”.

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