Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain on January 1, 2024

"Steamboat Willie" marks the first appearance of Mickey Mouse (apart from an earlier test screening). In the 1928 cartoon, Mickey is a happy-go-lucky, animal-abusing deckhand on a river steamboat, captained by a violent, oafish captain.

On January 1, 2024, the cartoon will enter the public domain. — Read the rest