Mickey Mouse is finally in the public domain. Here’s what that means.; The Washington Post, January 1, 2024

 Michael Cavna, The Washington Post; Mickey Mouse is finally in the public domain. Here’s what that means.

"Jennifer Jenkins, a law professor and director of Duke University’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain, says that from a copyright angle — trademark considerations are a different matter — “You can use Mickey and Minnie 1.0 from ‘Steamboat Willie’ and ‘Plane Crazy,’ but you cannot use the aggregated later Mickey that, for example, appears in one of my favorite films, ‘Fantasia.’ You cannot use the copyrightable aspect of the character from later, still-in-copyright works.”"