May 21, 1928 – Walt Disney Files to Trademark Mickey Mouse
On May 21, 1928, Walt Disney Enterprises officially filed with the United States Patent Office, looking to trademark Mickey Mouse. After Walt lost ownership of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Walt Disney Enterprises was certain that they would never face a similar situation. The trademark was called a “name mark,” which protects the character against similar names and similar logos. Anything that was considered too similar to Mickey Mouse, even changing one letter of the name, would infringe on Disney’s rights. This was the one of the first of many trademarks that would be filed by the Walt Disney Company.
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