Steamboat Willie

Disney copyright for Mickey Mouse ends on January 1, 2024, and legal battles lie ahead as Steamboat Willie character enters the public domain

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“This is a deeply symbolic, highly anticipated moment,” said Jennifer Jenkins, director of the Centre for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke Law School in the US state of North Carolina. Mickey Mouse in “Steamboat Willie” (1928). Photo: Getty Images Anyone is now free to copy, share, reuse and adapt Steamboat Willie and … Read more

Two icons of American pop culture lose copyright protections on Jan. 1

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Young Walt Disney works at his drawing board circa 1930. Bettmann/Bettmann Archive Every Jan. 1, a new batch of books, movies and other artistic creations enters the public domain. Copyright law in the United States is a complicated matter, but at its simplest, what’s happening this year is this: As of Jan. 1, 2024, the copyright … Read more