LOS ANGELES – Almost a century after his big-screen debut, Mickey Mouse enters the public domain on Monday, opening the floodgates to potential remakes, spin-offs, adaptations and legal battles with Disney.
The copyright on Steamboat Willie — a short, black-and-white 1928 animation that first introduced audiences to the mischievous rodent who would become emblematic of American pop culture — expires after 95 years, on January 1, under US law.
The date has loomed large on the calendars of everyone from filmmakers, fans and intellectual property lawyers to Disney executives, who in the past helped lobby to change law to prolong US copyright terms.
“This is a deeply symbolic, highly anticipated moment,” said Jennifer Jenkins, director of the Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain.
Anyone is now free to copy, share, reuse and adapt Steamboat Willie and Plane…
