Mickey Mouse, Long a Symbol in Copyright Wars, to Enter Public Domain: ‘It’s Finally Happening’
Mickey Mouse, Long a Symbol in Copyright Wars, to Enter Public Domain: ‘It’s Finally Happening’
Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain on Jan. 1, marking a milestone in the copyright wars for those fighting to ease restrictions on vintage IP.
In the United States (from Wikipedia):
The earliest incarnation of Mickey Mouse as well as Minnie Mouse enters the public domain work in 2024 through Steamboat Willie and The Gallopin' Gaucho. The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne, including the character Tigger, enters the public domain in 2024. Notable films entering the public domain in the United States include Abie's Irish Rose, Charlie Chaplin's The Circus, In Old Arizona, The Man Who Laughs, Noah's Ark, The Passion of Joan of Arc, Lights of New York, The Singing Fool, and Harold Lloyd's final silent feature Speedy.
Additional notable works entering the public domain in the United States include Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence, Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf, The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall, Millions of Cats by Wanda Gág, Decline and Fall by Evelyn Waugh, The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie, Story of the Eye by Georges Bataille, The Threepenny Opera by Bertolt Brecht, and An American in Paris by George Gershwin.
Kind of a clickbaity headline, especially for Variety. That specific "Steamboat Willie" Mickey Mouse, sans gloves and pupils-only, is due to go PD (as if you all didn't know this anyway). And don't think the name is copyright-free either.
In any case, who cares? Go, go, Air Pirates! Visit the Disneyland Memorial Orgy!
Finally