Nearly two dozen members of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Republican Study Commission (RSC) have declared their opposition to allowing the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) to renew its copyright on Mickey Mouse in 2024 based on what they called the company’s "political and sexual agenda."
What Happened: Fox News reported that roughly two dozen RSC members sent a letter to Disney CEO Bob Chapek stating they would not support the copyright extension based on their claim that the company “sought to expand business in China by kowtowing to its Communist regime” while ignoring its “human rights abuses and the theft of U.S. intellectual property.”
Closer to home, the lawmakers also cited Disney’s public pledge to have Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation repealed.
“Disney has said it wants this law repealed even though it has broad support among Florida residents, especially parents,” the lawmakers wrote to Chapek. “A senior Disney employee was recently caught on camera saying she wants ‘many, many, many LGBTQIA characters in our stories.’
“And according to a Disney employee, Disney’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion department, ‘expanded by an astonishing 633% in 2019–21, at the same time that nearly every other department was contracting by 25%–75%,” the lawmakers added. “This suggests Disney is purposefully influencing small children with its political and sexual agenda.”
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What Could Happen: Disney has been fiercely protective of maintaining its copyrights. The last major congressional update of the copyright laws, the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act of 1988, extended the terms of almost all existing copyrights by 20 years — thus, works made in 1923 or later that were protected by copyright in 1998 would not enter the public domain until Jan. 1, 2019 or later.
The legislation was widely nicknamed the "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" due to Disney’s none-too-secret lobbying efforts to maintain control of its prized creation. Mickey Mouse first appeared first appeared in 1928 and the act delayed the character’s lapse into the public domain until 2024.
The lawmakers told Chapek that "the Constitution gives Congress the authority to determine the length of time to protect copyrights. Further, it explicitly states that copyrights may not be permanent. Yet Disney’s long history of lobbying on this issue suggests that is its goal."
RSC Chairman Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana told Fox News, "Our Constitution explicitly states copyrights were not intended to last forever, yet Disney’s relentless lobbying indicates they intend to subvert this clause. If Disney wants to attack American values and young families, Congress should not reward them."
Photo: The first appearance of Mickey Mouse, in 1928's "Plane Crazy," courtesy of Disney.
