Mickey Mouse to enter the public domain in 2024

January 1, 2024 will mark the end of its 95 years of copyright.

A Disney representative told The Associated Press, “Since Mickey Mouse’s first appearance in the 1928 short film Steamboat Willie, people have associated the character with authentic Disney stories, experiences and products.” “That won’t change when the Steamboat Willie movie copyright expires,” he argued.

“More modern versions of Mickey will not be affected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright, and Mickey will continue to play a prominent role as a global ambassador for the Walt Disney Company in our storytelling, theme park attractions and products,” Disney added. “Of course, we will continue to protect our rights in more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright,” the company cautioned.

With Mickey Mouse entering the public domain, we will see the next new creations that the public could generate based on the original design of the character. An example of this is the gory version of Winnie the Pooh, titled “Blood and Honey”, created by Rhys Frake-Waterfield in 2023, when Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh universe also entered the public domain.

On the other hand, “Wonka” achieves an opening valued at $151.4 million.