A 1928 short film called Steamboat Willie, which stars early silent versions of Mickey and Minnie, is commonly regarded as the pivotal moment that changed Disney's direction and cemented its place in movie history.
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Their images are now available to the public in the US, after Disney's copyright expired.
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It means creatives like cartoonists can now rework and use the earliest versions of Mickey and Minnie.
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In fact, anyone can use those versions without permission or cost
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But Disney warned that more modern versions of Mickey are still covered by copyright.
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"We will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright," the company said.
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The early versions of Mickey and Minnie are just two of the works entering the public domain in the US on New Year's Day.
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Congress extended the copyright multiple times during Mickey's lifetime, and now it can be held for 95 years under U.S. law.
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Disney 100 years global exhibition begins in London.
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“Those works aren’t going to fall into the public domain in the United States for 25 years,” Heald said.
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