Valued at over $80 billion, Winnie the Pooh IP is now open to the public

The U.S. Copyright Term Extension Act provides that when a work is a "work made for hire," it will protect a company's copyright for 95 years from the date of first publication, or 120 years from the date of creation (whichever ends sooner).

It is understood that the first Winnie the Pooh storybook was published in 1926. The book has been on the market for more than 95 years. In other words, from January 1, 2022, Winnie the Pooh officially entered the public domain and the copyright was open to the public.

Starting this year, companies other than Disney will be able to use the Winnie the Pooh stories and adapt them into new projects or creative works.

Speaking of Winnie the Pooh, it has to be said that it is a super IP. According to the total global IP revenue statistics of Wikipedia in August 2021, the total revenue of Winnie the Pooh IP reached 80.3 billion US dollars, ranking third on the list.

In the past, I have reported on many copyright protection cases, where many sellers took risks to create derivative products of other IPs. In this case, the sellers either continued to "hide the truth" in a perplexed mood, or were included in the infringement list and their funds were frozen.

For sellers, it is good news that the big IP Winnie the Pooh has now entered the public domain.

But it's important to note that this "opening" only applies to the first storybook. In the 1860s, Disney acquired the license to produce Winnie the Pooh cartoons, comic strips, and other merchandise. Therefore, Disney still owns the copyright to works and characters created after 1926, including Tigger, which first appeared in 1928.

After obtaining authorization, Disney will also modify the animated characters in Winnie the Pooh. For example, in the first storybook, Winnie the Pooh was not wearing any clothes, which means that the Winnie the Pooh we often see in red clothes is still owned by Disney. If sellers want to obtain these images, they also need to obtain authorization from Disney. In addition, trademark issues are also worth paying attention to. Disney still has the trademark rights to the characters in the Winnie the Pooh series.

In fact, the opening of Winnie the Pooh to the public may be just the beginning of copyright issues for Disney and its iconic characters. Two years later, the copyright protection for the original version of Mickey Mouse, Steamboat Willie, which appeared in 1928, will also expire.

Winnie the Pooh

IP Open