I have practiced law in this area for over 30 years. Mickey Mouse, having first appeared in 1928 in Steamboat Willie, will enter the public domain in 2024 or afterward (depending on the date of the product), not this year. While Disney sought the Copyright Term Extension Act, it faced almost no opposition in the 1998 Congress that we all had elected, and the EU had already increased copyright term by 20 years, which is what the Act added to the US regime. IP was then and still is considered a pillar of US economic strength. It will be interesting to see if present Disney leadership seeks another bill in the present Congress, although given its focus on everything except economic growth, I doubt the environment is right. And Disney’s leadership may be ready to yield to the academics who argue that a public domain Mickey would increase his “currency” or level of public attention.

Chris