Big deal: Disney has officially withdrawn its copyright complaint against a third-party video of Steamboat Willie on YouTube.On Thursday, Mashable reported that YouTuber cartoonist and voice actor Brock Baker uploaded a video on his channel, which has more than 1 million subscribers, and almost immediately received a copyright complaint from Disney.
Baker's video features the entire 1928 Disney animated short "Steamboat Willie." He remixed the film starring Mickey Mouse, playing his own comedy soundtrack in the nearly eight-minute cartoon, and released it under the name "Steamboat Willie (Brock's Dub)".
Following the complaint, Baker's upload was removed, meaning the YouTuber was unable to profit from it. The complaint also blocked its ability to embed videos on third-party websites. Additionally, the visibility of YouTube videos has been restricted, including being completely unavailable in some countries.
Baker filed the objection shortly after receiving the copyright complaint. His case is certainly good, as Steamboat Willie entered the public domain on January 1, 2024, allowing for a wide range of creative uses of the film and its content, including for-profit purposes, without Disney's permission.
He succeeded. "Disney posted their rights claim and it can now be embedded and shared globally," Baker said on Friday. Baker also included a screenshot of the email alert he received from YouTube letting him know the copyright claim had been posted.
"Good news! After reviewing your dispute, Disney has decided to lift the copyright complaint against your YouTube video," YouTube's email read.
Since Disney dropped its complaint, Baker's videos can now be monetized, embedded, and viewed worldwide.
"Honestly, I'm glad it only took 24 hours instead of 30 days, but it's still frustrating." Baker told CNN that YouTube's policy gave Disney a full month to respond to his dispute over copyright complaints. "I wish I knew what was going on behind the scenes."
There's been a lot of speculation online about how to handle Steamboat Willie without incurring the wrath or potential lawsuits from Disney, since Disney still owns the trademark (as distinct from the copyright) to use the iconic Mickey Mouse character in certain circumstances. According to TechDirt, other Steamboat Willie videos have received copyright complaints over the past few days.
YouTube has always insisted that it will not mediate copyright complaints. Copyright holders can file complaints through its Content ID tool, while uploaders can dispute a complaint if they believe it is in error. According to YouTube, the responsibility for filing complaints about content that has entered the public domain lies with the Content ID user, which in this case is Disney.
Judging from the speed with which Baker's videos were flagged, Disney's copyright claims on his uploads are likely automated and pulled from YouTube's Content ID database.
However, the way this has been handled is likely to be of real help to those wishing to create new works based on the new public domain work Steamboat Willie. By posting a copyright statement for Baker's video on YouTube, Disney officially acknowledged for the first time that Steamboat Willie and this version of Mickey Mouse were indeed in the public domain.
In other words, content like Baker's should be allowed with or without input from Disney.