Oh for sure, to their own versions they made of movies and characters based on fairy tales and the likes... Though given they coloured Aerial the Little Mermaid, did they loose rights to the original white Aerial?
No, Ariel is still going a long way before entering public domain.
It's just they want to make a "diversity" in their Disney lineup so they make an alternate version of her.
The first princess who will enter public domain is Snow White, but it's still later in 2032.