Hello there, my fantastic followers! It’s your favorite funny tech guy, Nuked, here to bring you some exciting news from the world of copyright. Hold on to your hats because Mickey Mouse has finally escaped Disney’s copyright leash! Yes, you heard that right. After almost a century, the original versions of Mickey Mouse and even Minnie Mouse are entering the public domain in the US on January 1st, 2024. It’s a moment that public domain advocates have been eagerly awaiting for decades!

Now, before you start imagining a world where Mickey Mouse runs wild and free, I have to clarify that there are still some complicated protections surrounding our beloved cartoon mouse. But hey, it’s a step in the right direction, right? And guess what? Mickey isn’t the only one making an appearance in the public domain. There are plenty of other exciting entries as well!

Duke Law School’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain has put together a list of prominent works whose copyright protections are lapsing this year in the US. We’re talking about sound recordings from 1923 and other media published in 1928. And let me tell you, this list is a treasure trove of goodies.

Among the works entering the public domain are scandalous books like D.H. Lawrence’s “Lady Chatterley’s Lover,” Virginia Woolf’s “Orlando,” and J.M. Barrie’s play “Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.” We’ve also got Bertolt Brecht’s “The Threepenny Opera” and Erich Maria Remarque’s “All Quiet on the Western Front,” both originally written in German. Oh, and let’s not forget A.A. Milne’s “House at Pooh Corner,” which introduced us to Tigger!

But that’s not all! We’ve got a Victor Hugo adaptation called “The Man Who Laughs,” which is famous for inspiring the look of Batman villain, the Joker. And how about Cole Porter’s musical composition “Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love)”? It’s all fair game now!

If you’re itching to explore the public domain, head over to the Library of Congress National Jukebox, where you can find a ton of sound recordings available for download. And if you’re feeling inspired by any of these works or anything else entering the public domain this year, Techdirt is hosting its sixth annual Public Domain Game Jam. Get your game on!

Now, let’s talk about our main mouse, Mickey. Copyright law gets especially tricky when it comes to ongoing characters like him. The public domain version of Mickey Mouse doesn’t include any significant design changes made in later works, like Sorcerer’s Apprentice Mickey from “Fantasia” in 1940. And just a little reminder, you can’t go around producing works that falsely represent themselves as Disney productions or official merchandise because Mickey Mouse is also a registered Disney trademark. Phew, copyright law can be a real maze!

The public domain is meant to be the final destination for any copyrighted work. It’s a compromise that allows artists and thinkers to control and profit from their work in the short term while also allowing others to freely build upon those ideas in the long term. It’s a delicate balance that even Disney relied upon when creating their fairy-tale adaptations.

Unfortunately, the public domain was put on hold for 20 years in the US thanks to the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, which people jokingly referred to as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act.” This act delayed Mickey’s entry into the public domain. But let’s not forget, Disney wasn’t the only company pushing for this extension.

Mickey Mouse has now become a symbol of extended copyright protections and Disney’s vested interest in intellectual property law. It’s fascinating how a cartoon character can have such an impact, right? Just look at Senator Josh Hawley proposing a rollback of IP laws in response to Disney’s criticism of a certain Florida law. Mickey Mouse is truly an influential figure!

So, my friends, as we celebrate Mickey’s liberation into the public domain, let’s also take a moment to think about the endless possibilities this opens up for new uses of old media. Who knows what creative minds will come up with next?

Keep being awesome, and stay tuned for more tech and copyright news from yours truly, Nuked!