Mickey and Minnie, in their first original black and white versions, are some of the most famous characters among the thousands of copyrighted works published in 1928, which have now entered the public domain.
The popular characters from Disney’s Steamboat Willie cartoon lost copyright protection on New Year’s Day, and can now be adapted and remade at will without risk of legal action and without having to pay royalties. After 95 years the original ‘mouse’ now belongs to everyone!
Other works now in the public domain include the stage version of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, Lady Chatterley’s Lover novel by D.H. Lawrence, Orlando by Virginia Woolf, the original German version of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, and The Three Penny Opera by Bertold Brecht.
Disney had played a leading role in the all-out defense of copyright by pushing for the approval of the Congressional act that, in 1998, extended copyright protection by 20 years, from 75 to 95.
Renamed the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act”, the extension was approved under pressure from Disney and from a large number of copyright holders, to protect the works of their creators for as long as possible.
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