On the 1st of January 2024 after decades of intensive lobbying Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain. His first appearance the 1928 animated short Steamboat Willy will lose its copyright protection in its country of origin the United States of America and thus every other territory like the United Kingdom that has the rule of shorter term and country of origin.
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| Still from Mickey Mouse and the Mad Doctor |
Of course several Disney products have already entered the public domain because registrations weren't renewed and for works contracted to the United States government during WWII. And this includes some works that feature the Disney Empire corporation's mascot and superstar Michael `Mickey` Mouse. If you come across a collection of comic strips called "Uncensored Mouse" that is a collection of Mickey Mouse comic strips that are in the public domain. The importance here is that when a character's first appearance enters the public domain it frees up that character for re-use in many creative ways, whereas previously we were limited to the handful of works that were in the public domain.
Though its important to keep in mind that Disney will retain copyright on many later works documenting the Mouse and his adventures, we'll have trademarks to deal with, but this is still a big deal.
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