Disney’s Copyright Protections Are Latest Target of Republicans

Republican Senator Josh Hawley is proposing to shorten the time that companies can protect their creative work through copyrights, in the latest shot at Walt Disney Co.

Hawley introduced a bill that would limit copyright protections to 56 years and make that change retroactive, so Disney could no longer claim exclusive rights to some older characters like Mickey Mouse.

“The age of Republican handouts to Big Business is over,” Hawley, from Missouri, said in a press release. “It’s time to take away Disney’s special privileges and open up a new era of creativity and innovation.”

Disney, the world’s ...