Mickey Mouse, one of the most famous characters in the world, will become public domain in 2024, reports daily.afisha.ru with reference to Business Insider.

This will happen on January 1, almost a hundred years after his first appearance in the cartoon "Steamboat Willie" in 1928.

We are talking about the first version of Mickey Mouse, which has a number of differences from the image that we know today. It has a narrow, thin tail and a longer nose.

Mickey Mouse's copyright was originally scheduled to expire in 1984. However, in the 1970s, Disney obtained a 20-year copyright extension. In 1998, the copyright was extended for another 20 years in what became known as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act.

Disney isn't worried about homemade Mickey Mouses popping up around the world after January 1, 2024. The fact is that Disney retains the copyright to all modern depictions of the character, since every time the company creates a new version of Mickey Mouse, it receives the copyright to it. In addition, Disney owns the trademarks to the modern incarnation of Mickey Mouse.

In 2022, the original version of Winnie the Pooh also entered the public domain. A year later, the character's image was used in the acclaimed low-rated slasher film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.