Disney primarily makes money from recent works and new works. They in reality make little from the character debut in 1928 of Micky Mouse. They can certainly use the logo and stylised shape forever as a Trademark. Trademarks (and associated logos), Registered Designs (USA = Design Patent) and Patents are a totally different class of IP to copyright. Copyright and ordinary Patents should expire.
Copyright exists AUTOMATICALLY when a work is created. Trademarks (and associated logos) and Registered Designs (USA = Design Patent) quite reasonably should be forever, except the USPTO is broken. The US regular Patent system is broken too. However this thread is about copyright, not ALL IP.
Disney are huge lobbyist to increase the abuse of the reason for Copyright (recompense to the creators while they live, and later to the next generation, the estate).
Disney wants perpetual copyright which is wrong. The creators of their IP get little of the royalty. Extending to 50 years, then 75 and proposed 100 after the death of the creator is wrong and is an abuse. Who is benefiting?
Copyright to reward the creators and next generation, good. Copyright simply to enable mega corporations to control material of long dead artists and writers is wrong.
Disney have become a toxic empire hoovering up other people's IP. Not as toxic as Alphabet (Google who abuse everyone else's copyright), Facebook or Amazon. Culturally toxic. They want to own as much cultural IP of the 20th & 21st C as possible, forever.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...Disney_Company