Disney’s copyright on ‘Steamboat Willie’, which features the earliest version of Mickey Mouse, expired in the US on New Year’s Day - meaning the image is in the public domain and free to use… with some caveats. So what’s next for Mickey?
Some creatives have already sprung into action. Noor Nanji, a BBC Culture reporter, tells us about an upcoming Mickey Mouse slasher movie and a video game.
We also hear from Erin Delmore, the BBC’s North America Business Correspondent and Jennifer Jenkins, a professor of intellectual property law at Duke University, about how public domain laws work. Plus we pitch some ideas of our own.
Email: whatintheworld@bbc.co.uk WhatsApp: +44 0330 12 33 22 6 Presenter: Hannah Gelbart Producers: Alex Rhodes, Benita Barden, Adam Chowdhury and Emily Horler Editors: Verity Wilde and Simon Peeks