The copyright on Mickey Mouse expires today, meaning The Walt Disney Company no longer has the exclusive rights to the character. Does this mean you can put Mickey in your own cartoon? Not exactly.

But perhaps most famously, the cartoon introduced the world to the characters of Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Mickey Mouse in particular quickly became one of the most iconic characters of the Disney ...

For nearly a century, the image of Mickey Mouse has been married to the Walt Disney Company brand, but on January 1, 2024, Disney’s copyright of “Steamboat Willie,” Walt Disney’s first ...

The earliest versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse now belong to the American people. The characters as they appear in the animated short films "Steamboat Willie" and "Plane Crazy" entered the U.S ...

It’s finally happened: after nearly a century, Mickey Mouse has slipped off Disney’s copyright leash. The first versions of the iconic cartoon character, seen in Steamboat Willie and a silent ...

Two of the most sought-after characters in film and television are set to enter the public domain on Jan. 1, which will allow creators to use the original versions of Mickey and Minnie Mouse to ...