If you’re the creative type and you’re struggling to come up with your next idea, do not fear: some big works, including the original version of Mickey Mouse, are entering the public domain on Jan. 1 in the United States.
And if, on the other hand, you prefer your Disney characters to be cute, cuddly and never-changing, well … you might want to stop reading.
In 2024, thousands of copyrighted works published in 1928 are entering the public domain, after their 95-year term expires.
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The New York Times reached out to some writers, producers and directors to give you a taste of what might be unleashed in this strange new world.
‘This beloved character might soon appear in subversive contexts!’ is a buck wild attitude for any writer who is from Earth. If you grew up on the backside of the moon then maybe you missed the last twenty-odd years of Rule 34. Maybe. But not even in Walt’s lifetime were these made-up animals safe from creative perverts.
Tijuana Bibles predate Steamboat Willie. Normal people do not give a shit about copyright. It exists for businesses and people who do business. So long as new stuff keeps coming out and roughly the right people are making some money for making it, the details only matter a little bit, and the free-for-all weird shit doesn’t matter at all.