Works in the public domain

[Anaxagoras]

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is now in the public domain. Here is a reading of it, if you want. It just came up in my podcast feed:

[Rob Lister]

What about Mickey?

[Anaxagoras]

What about Mickey?

Well, The Great Gatsby was originally published in 1925 and it finally became public domain this year. Steamboat Willie was released in 1928, so maybe it will become public domain in 2024?

But I don't actually know what that means about Mickey Mouse the character. I think it just means that Steamboat Willie is public domain, but later works featuring Mickey Mouse would still be protected until 96 years after the year they were released.

[Witness]

On January 1, 2024, we'll see the expiration of the copyright for Steamboat Willie—and with it Disney's claim to the film's star, Mickey Mouse. The copyrights to Superman, Batman, Disney's Snow White, and early Looney Tunes characters will all fall into the public domain between 2031 and 2035.

Mickey Mouse will be public domain soon—here’s what that means

Worth a read, if Rob had the Internet.

[Doctor X]

It is one of the most overrated wastes of a tree since Moby Dick and Emily Dickinson.

– J.D.