You might know him as Disney’s most iconic figure, but a Canadian horror director has other ideas. The earliest iteration of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain on Jan. 1, and Jamie Bailey and his team were quick to release a trailer that day for the upcoming slasher movie Mickey’s Mouse Trap. Asked why he … Read more
Last year, Disney celebrated its 100th anniversary, but as the New Year dawned their ownership of the original Mickey Mouse has now come to an end. Despite the copyright being extended through lobbying Congress twice over the decades, the beloved cartoon character’s first short, 1928’s Steamboat Willie, is finally in the public domain. The studio … Read more
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