Jan. 22, 2018 “There’s actually more pushback now than there was 20 some years ago when the Mickey Mouse act was passed,” said Paul Heald, a professor at the University of Illinois College ...

The “Steamboat Willie” version of Mickey Mouse has sailed to Walt Disney’s biggest enemy: the public domain. Much like Winnie the Pooh took his first bloody steps into the public domain last ...

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.

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 ...

“There’s actually more pushback now than there was 20 some years ago when the Mickey Mouse act was passed,” said Paul Heald, a professor at the University of Illinois College of Law who ...

Now, get ready for “Steamboat Willie” horror films. The 1928 version of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain on Monday, and indie horror producers are wasting no time in capitalizing on it.

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 ...

“It became really about Mickey Mouse in terms of the public debate once the law was passed.” Lessig fought the extension all the way to the Supreme Court. He argued that Congress might keep ...

1928 Mickey (seen above) didn’t speak, had solid black eyes with no pupils, and had long, skinny appendages with no gloves on his hands. All subsequent versions of the mouse will still be ...