The folks at Walt Disney thought enough or Steamboat Willie to obtain a copyright on the character, but who would have thought back in 1928 that the image would build the foundation that is now a worldwide media and marketing empire? Much has been made of the news that an early copyright of Steamboat Willie is at risk because of a technical flaw in the filing. William Munck, head of the intellectual property section at Dallas' Munck Cartersays the business world could take a lesson from Disney, which has taken several steps to protect the iconic rodent's image. "Disney has many procedures in place to protect Mickey and his friends, including federal, common law and foreign trademark registrations," says Munck. "None of these derive their validity from a single first copyright filing, so there is no domino effect that would place Mickey in the public domain. Likewise, companies must realize that the lifeblood of their organization is their intellectual capital, and should develop intellectual property protection strategies tailored to their particular business." To interview Mr. Munck about intellectual property matters, contact Alan Bentrup at 800-559-4534 or alan@androvett.com.