The Mouse is Free. It's Public Domain Day 2024.

[@austinmcconnell]

We're making a cartoon based on public domain characters! Support it here: bit.ly/CatManKICK

[@GeoBlits]

THE MOUSE REVOLT HAS BEGUN !✊✊✊

[@CatchTheMarmosets]

The mouse revolt has begun

[@BrodyDoesStufff]

First reply... I guess, hey listen if ur actually first it just didn't load 4 me

[@ninleyarchival]

如果你翻译了这个，那么你很可能会被破坏。如果你不想承受这种困境的后果，那么你必须在老鼠爬进来之前分享这个。🎉🎉🎉😊😊😊 这些表情符号使得这被伪装成一个以老小鸡为食的骗局。但是无论哪种方式。匆忙！为了你自己！！！！！！！

[@Abs0luteCha0s]

Intellectual property isn’t real property! Only physical property is!

[@LemonToGo]

The most ironic thing is that Disney got much of its own popularity by working with characters and stories from the public domain...

[@morganb8250]

Weren’t they technically just European fairy tales? I don’t think there was a copyright on Cinderella and Snow White.

[@Ealais76]

@@morganb8250when the system was invented they immediatly enter the public domain, because they were old enough

[@VunderGuy]

The irony from anti-copyright idiots like you is that you don't understand that there weren't a lot of players in Disney's sphere at the time which gave them carte blanche to make works based on classic stories so iconic and singular no idiots using the public domain alone could ever match without the comparison from the onset. For further irony, you fail to understand that Disney from the get go has made creating their own stuff or legally purchasing someone else's stuffconveniently

[@mirjanbouma]

​@@morganb8250 You could argue that they are therefore public domain.

[@shlokwaghela9560]

Never thought about that but yeah, pretty crazy

[@augustdeer]

Watching Steamboat Willie appear on the front page of Wikipedia was awesome to see in real-time.

[@rachelhughes8487]

Can't say I've ever actually seen the front page to Wikipedia lol.

[@Conner21dumb]

wikipedia has a front page?

[@augustdeer]

@@rachelhughes8487 Oh, it's pretty cool. They always feature a few articles that are interesting if you like going down random research rabbit-holes.

[@Whyyoulooking45]

Bro really just sat there for news years like 👁️👄👁️

[@alex.g7317]

I bet reading school dictionary’s is your idea of a vacation. /j

[@Nerfyboy800]

Disney themselves got big in the first place thanks to their own adaptations of public domain stories. So the fact that they are now it's worst enemy is quite ironic. They used the public domain to destroy the public domain.

[@kena4977]

It isn't ironic. It's modern capitalism. Use the current rules to make money, then use that money to maintain a monopoly.

[@noseboop4354]

Greed is ungrateful to the hand that feeds it.

[@kylespevak6781]

Been said to death, but it's basic business. Use a hack to get ahead, cut off that hack so no one can overtake you

[@m.ostrowski2031]

⁠@@kena4977 Capitalism, or rather, the free market is a term used to describe an economy with little restriction that is primarily facilitated through supply and demand. At its most fundamental level it is the ability for individuals and individual (private) owned companies to compete in the economy. Most countries in the world, including America are mixed economies. Disney is a publicly traded corporation, it is not private nor capitalistic, and collaboration with politicians to create legislation which restricts competition is not a quality of capitalism.

[@BewareTheLilyOfTheValley]

Rules for thee, not for me 🙄.

[@RiseOfTheKumquat67]

2024 is gonna be the year that Steamboat Willie gets put in horror movies and hentai and whatever else they can think of to insult Disney. Now 2025 is the REAL big year, because that's when we can legally get Steamboat Willie/Popeye the Sailor Man team ups.

[@lost3633]

This is going to be fun to watch how this will go down

[@seaotter4439]

I thought Popeye was already in the public domain because Max Fleischer Studios never renewed their copyright

[@matthewrease2376]

Why wouldn't that already be in porn? That stuff isn't regulated...

[@Platitudinous9000]

Literally a developer already has a Mickey Mouse horror game in the works and waited until today to announce it

[@Ravendarkwytch]

‘Just when you thought it was safe to take a steamboat down the Mississippi River…Mickey becomes a murderer’

[@danielgadsden7543]

Interestingly in the UK, Peter Pan's copyright has not, and will not ever, expired. This is due to a special exemption it received, since the Author left all future profits to Charity.

[@sillygo0oser]

That’s actually lovely

[@davitdavid7165]

What if they do a copy-left with it, so everyone can do a Peter pan, but should also donate to charity

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

I believe that law only applies in the UK, and only to Barrie's original stage play.

[@thischannelhasbeenabandoned420]

​@@yankis.That's a ridiculous statement. Public domain is a good thing.

[@poudink5791]

@@davitdavid7165 that's not how copyleft works. copyleft is licensing under a license that allows free use as long as any work making use of your work is also using a free license. like cc-by-sa or the gpl.

[@KibitoAkuya]

Fun fact, a Food company in Paraguay actually uses Mickey's face as their logo and to this day Disney has failed to stop them (they have actually lost in court against them even) Fittingly, the company's brand is...Mickey

[@Cecilias]

i find that really funny tbh

[@KasumiKenshirou]

I read about that. In that country Disney hadn't used it as a trademark yet so there was nothing they could do.

[@theangrynerd101]

@@KasumiKenshirou Lmao I love that

[@jackyex]

​@lu0z9_the_Inot the same, those are ilegal and are copyright infringement, the case in Paraguay is funny ybecsuse they got the actual right to use Mickey's face as their logo, although only the face facing left funnily enough, front facing Mickey is Disney's property.

[@blackattack1840]

That 1930s style MOUSE FPS game is about to have the BEST secret boss or protag reveal.

[@ryanroscoe673]

prob

[@yeeyeeyeeye]

They have the opportunity to do the funniest thing right now.

[@ender7278]

That was definitely a calculated move.

[@MutagenStation]

Right

[@heron2]

This should be a yearly video! An overview of the public domain for the coming year

[@MutagenStation]

that'd be interesting

[@aguynamednathan]

Can't wait to see Micky bouncing around at that wheel for hours to the sound of LoFi beats

[@OlgaHampton-q5t]

Lofi beats to sail a boat/get a girlfriend to 😂

[@MutagenStation]

😂

[@Arcademan09]

This needs to happen for videogames. If a company/publisher isn't selling their older games or giving people an easier (legal) way to access it then let it go to the public domain. Tell me what "lost sales" are happening when you emulate Madden '98 or Chameleon Twist 2

[@h4724-q6j]

It would be happening if the length of copyright were as short as it should be. Intellectual property law in general is a completely broken system that holds back our creative and intellectual development as a species massively.

[@jankbunky4279]

Totally agreed. Should be criminal to just nearly forget about your own copyrighted material, only to then gatekeep it when someone makes a *fan game* about it or something.

[@shoe_plays]

estimating on the original 1909 copyright law, we could've seen magnavox odyssey games be in the public domain (if copyright for games works like that)

[@Arcademan09]

@@shoe_plays why exactly don't they? Is it because video games weren't invented yet?

[@h4724-q6j]

@@Arcademan09 because it was repealed and superseded by the Copyright Act of 1976.

[@LouMurk]

Superman and Batman becoming public domain in 10 years is about to be insane.

[@mateushenriquepinheiro3197]

I'm excited to see what people will do with them, because we can't have a 'blood and honey' situation with most DC characters because DC themselves have made evil and horror versions of these characters, superman has had a bunch of evil versions through the last half century so I can't see people trying to make more of this because it is already becoming somewhat stale, same applies to Batman to a much larger extent thanks to elseworld stories and the horror theme that has become a part of Batman as a whole. I personally can't wait for when they go to public domain because Marvel will be able to put them in their comic universe, in 10 years... Spiderman teaming up with Superman and Batman regularly could be within our reach... The world's finest will be in our hands

[@americanbadass88]

Supermans first appearance in Action Comics will be the one entering public domain. which means we can get superman #1 for FREE comic book collectors will be TICKED. if anyones sitting on those for investments better unload them soon.....

[@ImCurrentlyNaked]

The exciting thing about those characters going public domain is that they're still heavily used by their owners. The problem with the current system is that by the time these properties become public domain, they're usually no longer beloved, recognised, or relevant to the public zeitgeist anymore - whereas superman and batman very much are; so I'm curious how that would not only effect how DC uses these character going forward, but how the public will handle these characters too.

[@N313GrayFox]

​​@@mateushenriquepinheiro3197First off: tacky. 2nd: They'll be able to put the very basic versions from their first comics. No iconic logos (trademark), Superman couldn't fly back then, had no Kryptonite, Batman has no Alred, batmobile was just a normal car, etc.

[@thegodofalldragons]

​@@N313GrayFoxKryptonite came from the radio program, as did Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, and the Daily Planet. And if the prevailing legal theory is correct, all old radio programs are public domain (not sure what the reason is; I think it's because they don't have the then-required valid copyright notices?). If you wait a couple more years, you get redhead Lex Luthor and x-ray vision. Plus the Fleischer cartoons are also public domain. So for Superman, you'd actually get a pretty extensive toy box to use almost right off the bat.

[@moondoor9031]

In my opinion, Mickey is one of the most dangerous characters to use in a New project or anything. Even if his first version is now in Public Domain... I wish to see a new project made by Austin with this version of Mickey.

[@WheatOatmeal]

I'd just give him blue pants to be safe

[@roberine7241]

yeah the new mickey looks so similar to the old one I could see disney trying to sue everyone that decides to use him

[@ppprime98K]

@@roberine7241 Give em' a new hat and dont make the personality to appeal 4yo and you safe

[@groofay]

Yep, considering almost everybody alive has the more modern iterations of Mickey Mouse burned into their long-term memory, if you even by mistake put an aspect of him into the work, Disney will go after you.

[@MNSweet]

2024: The Battle for Etsy Public Doman.

[@Mitchellfw]

I'm not terribly creative, but I am excited that a bunch of early talkies are coming of age.

[@sneak1677]

fr imagine seeing old cartoons become popular again and having terrible modern stuff pushed away If so, que sh'boom by the chords

[@scr0ngle108]

​​@@sneak1677 Foolish way of looking at things. There are just as much mediocre and bad cartoons from 'classic' eras as there are great and fun cartoons nowadays

[@sneak1677]

@@scr0ngle108 Sure but I'm pretty sure old scooby doo is better than modern scooby doo

[@salvation7362]

When gaming companies stop supporting games and close down servers they should then automatically become public domain. If you're not going to sell, distribute or make an effort to preserve something then it should be handed over to the public to save it from obscurity.

[@Granolora]

That's actually a thing with video games, it's a loophole in video game copyright known by some as the abandonware clause, which exists because the infringer can only be sued for any theoretical damages caused by the unauthorised distribution, and if a game isn't being actively distributed officially, there are no real damages to speak of, so companies usually don't bother at that point.

[@superplushtiman7ti075]

@@Granolora which begs the question of what happens when the company goes under and nobody buys their assets before then

[@mirjanbouma]

Abandonware is a bit of a grey area (last i checked) but coming after you for sharing copies of a game that isn't sold anymore has not (yet?) been successfully done by any developer or publisher of digital games AFAIK. If any of the above is incorrect, please feel free to @ me! My dive into this rabbit hole has been a while and legislation changes.

[@headphonesaxolotl]

@@Granolora I think this doesn't always apply- Disney can (and does) sue and remove Club Penguin private servers and fangames, yet both the original and Island games have been shut down and Disney no longer uses the franchise despite holding the rights to it.

[@jonathanwright8025]

You're dammn right. Same with books, movies, tv shows - if you arn't using it, there should be no reason to stop others.

[@sweetsweetalib4857]

Hi Austin! They might be a nightmare to use, but most of Charlton Comics characters like Peacemaker, Blue Beetle (Ted Kord), and The Question are all in the public domain and can be used in your superzeroes universe!

[@mateushenriquepinheiro3197]

Really? Damn now I want a video explaining how in the world that's possible

[@CSLucasEpic]

Yes. But Austin has already made a video where he decided the characters he will use in his Superzeroes universe. Which are: Atlas, The Spider Queen, Catman, Blue Bolt, Landor, the Six-Gun Gorilla and little Red Ridding Hood.

[@SpectacularSpidey670]

you are just lying, its not possible to use them

[@ImCurrentlyNaked]

I'm pretty sure all three are owned by DC, and their copyright is still active - in fact, the watchmen comic was supposed to include these characters, but DC got cold feet at the idea of killing some of them having just bought them, and thus Moore (the watchmen writer) created knock-off versions that are probably more well known now.

[@74oshua]

DC definitely owns the trademark for those characters, so I'm pretty sure you'd have to avoid mentioning them by name

[@noel-ts3jr]

Let's give the public domain some more love! As a writer and artist, I do not feel threatened by it, despite the fact "loosening copyright" can be a scary concept for people these days with the AI problem. The public domain allowed me to complete my literature degree as many of the mandatory texts were free to read online! It has enabled and encouraged my creativity and, with books being so expensive nowadays, it is a welcome tool for everybody. Also, screw disney.

[@wandereringshadow8658]

Plus the mere fact that after your dead, who will copyright really benefit in almost a hundred years? If I was a creative, I wouldn't want my great-grandchildern to be deadbeats coasting off my legacy. I would want them to get out there and make something of themselves, write their own creative venture. Heck, even expand upon my original works if they so choose to. The Doyle Estate is a good example of how greed can tarnish the reputation of a family name though, and it'd be best if Copyright was just heavily laxed alltogether.

[@madkoala2130]

I also see public domain as "end of the cannon". Like if you want to protect your copyright from any future "rewrites" then make anyone can use so none can be taken seriously, because it not from original copyright holder.

[@ihaventgrownaspine9994]

When you put it that way, that's another reason why public domain is extremely helpful, especially regarding academics and personal/creative pursuits ^^

[@joshuapittman4663]

Imo as an artist, musician, and producer, I personally think that copyright shouldn’t exist and it definitely shouldn’t hold a penal penalty if infringed. Like it’s stupid that copyright infringement can be a 5 year sentence, but in Ohio if someone were yo attempt to pay a minor to sleep with them it only carries a maximum of 3 years. According to the law it is more serious to infringe upon someone’s intellectual property than it is to be a predator… Disney themselves only exist because of the public domain since most of their intellectual properties are adaptations of public domain material.

[@Kuudere-Kun]

This is exactly why Disney spent so much of the 2010s buying properties with more recent creation dates. Anyone can create a Mickey now but only Disney can create a Mickey shaped Stormtrooper helmet.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Also why they created derivative versions of some of their characters like the Miles Morales version of Spider-Man. Due to the way the copyright extensions are written, it was a possibility that Marvel could've lost Spider-Man to co-creator Steve Ditko's heirs. They two parties recently settled their dispute so they don't really need Miles Morales anymore.

[@RasinnFlakes]

I LITERALLY HAVE A SHIRT WITH MICKEY WEARING A STORMTROOPER HELMET LMAOO

[@Quaquadaqu]

@@KasumiKenshiroumiles morales was created before Disney bought marvel.

[@Lucas72928]

Not only did Mickey become public domain, Steamboat Willie also contains the first appearance of Minnie! Also, the same year, 1928, saw the release of the second Mickey Mouse short: Gallopin' Gaucho; that's also public domain now as well as the silent version of Plane Crazy!

[@coolrobin]

My favorite example of public domain adaptation is easily Little Shop of Horrors Went from a decent B horror movie to a Broadway musical made musical movie

[@sawkchalk6966]

Let's make Epic Mickey 3 guys

[@Person-wz6iy]

Well Disney trademarked it.

[@sawkchalk6966]

@@Person-wz6iy fine I'll make Epic Willie then!

[@anth636]

@@sawkchalk6966”just wait till you see my epic willie!”

[@ViolentSillyGirl]

Wait theres an Epic Mickey 2?!

[@Orange_Swirl]

​@@ViolentSillyGirlYes, there is. It's been out for a while.

[@MNSweet]

Thank you! You are the first person I've watched on this topic in the past year who has mentioned the Trademark. MickeyViews and DSNY Newcast were the only others who went deeper into discussing how the new Disney Studios movie intro strategically took the whistling frames from Steamboat Willie and used it in their Trademarks to protect that arrangement of frames making it so you can play the entire video but not just that section as it would violate the TM. Disney plays 5D chess: Space, Time, and Legal Positioning.

[@zymosan99]

thats fucked up

[@neoqwerty]

@@zymosan99 Disney managed to copyright public domain characters, what'd you expect from them?

[@crazyfire9470]

It’s smart

[@jacobawesomeness5378]

Worth noting, that not only is steamboat willie is in public domain, but plane crazy and gallopin’ gaucho, which were two silent Mickey Mouse films, are entering public domain, which ups the smith of Mickey Mouse films in public domain to four since The Mad Doctor is in the public domain due to Disney failing to renew the copyright for it.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

There are some of the newspaper comic strips in the public domain as well. A guy tried to publish them in the 90s under the title "The Uncensored Mouse", with an entirely black cover, no images or mentions of Mickey on the cover, but Disney sued him and shut him down. I don't know the details of the case, i.e., whether Disney actually won the case or the other guy couldn't outspend Disney's lawyers and gave up.

[@ExplodingJellyfish]

My question is... Say I want to find public domain works, whether they be movies, comics, music, animations, books, all of it- Where do I look? Granted there is that wonderful video of yours that covers public domain characters/stories that you encouraged your viewers to write about to get past writers block, wonderful video by the way, but I wanted to find some obscure Public Domain figures/characters/etc of my own to take a crack at, make something truly unique with them, but I'm not even sure where to start looking. Your stuff inspires me every day and I'm excited to see Atlas, more of Cat-Man, and all the other stuff you got cooking!

[@rockincradilyyyy8489]

There is a public domain superhero wiki (I think)

[@-Teague-]

Google "Public Domain Day Website" the first result is a Duke University website that might be of use to you

[@theagentsquidfiles504]

Project Gutenberg isn't bad for literary public domain works

[@animatrix1490]

There are a few lists on Wikipedia of public domain movies, images, etc. The Digital Comic Museum has a huge record of public domain comics available for free (signing up for a free account also lets you download PDFs and stuff).

[@mirjanbouma]

​​@@theagentsquidfiles504it's very obviously run on donations. But as one born in the 80s, the very bare bone website is actually very familiar and easy to use for me 😅. All hail project Gutenberg!

[@1ManRandom]

So slight correction, the current copyright length in the US is the life of the author plus 70 years. For corporate-made works, it’s 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever comes first. Other than that, great video!

[@flatfingertuning727]

Unless the law is fixed to something reasonable, that will apply to works that are produced after some date, but does not apply to works produced prior to that. The "author's life plus 70" rule should at minimum be adjusted to say that in the absence of a registration establishing the author's date of death, unregistered works would time out after 95 years if not registered, or 70 years after the last date the author was registered as still being alive (so if someone authored a work in 1980 at age 15 and was still alive in 2060 (age 80), that person could register their work and protect it until at least 2150. If the person ended up dying in 2070 at age 105, the estate would have until 2105 to register the person's death, which would extend the copyright to 2140. I think the time scales involved are absurdly long, but specifying that a work's copyright can only be pushed out to "life plus 70" if the copyright office is given some searchable notice that would allow them to say whether a work's author had been alive in the past 70 years would hardly seem an onerous registration requirement. Incidentally, I also think there should be a "finder's copyright" that would allow someone who discovers an obscure work to receive an exclusive short-term publication right without having to add any original content of their own, provided that they escrow a "best available copy" of what they encounter. At present, if someone were to find a formerly unknown work that was written 100 years, edit in some of their own original content, and never release the original, they would be entitled to many decades of copyright protection in exchange for their effective destruction of the original work. Congress could far more effectively "promote progress in the sciences and useful arts" if they were to allow people discovering such works to receive e.g. 10 years of exclusive publication rights in exchange for ensuring that unaltered originals would be publicly available after that.

[@jankbunky4279]

70 years is so completely nuts. If the author dies at 70, the copyright will in all likelyhood expire when the creator's grandchildren's grandchildren have a teenage child of their own.

[@hhgff778]

Honestly can't wait to see what people will do with Mickey Mouse, some already have done some creative stuff with him way before the copyright expired.

[@MutagenStation]

we shall see

[@Goblin_Tank]

I wish everything Disney had went into the public domain, perhaps they would focus on new stuff instead of remakes.

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

When you wish upon a star, anything your heart desires will come to you!

[@animezilla4486]

​@user-iy1xv6jl9iI don't trust these people

[@jer1776]

Lots of their work should already be, especially Star Wars. The fact you have to pay royalties to some company with deep pockets just to watch the old Star Wars films is absurd.

[@marktheshark7588]

I really admire what you're doing with the public domain golden age superheroes,Austin.Happy New Year🎉

[@TheBaldr]

Steamboat Willie is still a trademark, they play the clip before every Disney Animation, so be careful how you use it, you still could end up in civil legal trouble.

[@RedUmbre]

growing up characters like Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog were in so many dirty vulgar parodies online it gave a sense that they were almost like folkloric characters that were a launchpad for the creativity of young people. I used to make mario romhacks and it taught me everything I know about computers. Hell I learned how to draw by drawing mario.

[@Broswald_Inc]

Think about this.... in 95 years this video will be public domain.

[@zoeherriot]

Are you saying he’s going to die soon? The copyright law (since he’s not anonymous) is after his death +70 years.

[@Broswald_Inc]

@@zoeherriot No? It's death +70 years or 95 years after release. If yours was true Mickey wouldn't be public domain until 2036.

[@zoeherriot]

@@Broswald_Inc no. “The term of copyright for a particular work depends on several factors, including whether it has been published, and, if so, the date of first publication. As a general rule, for works created after January 1, 1978, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus an additional 70 years. For an anonymous work, a pseudonymous work, or a work made for hire, the copyright endures for a term of 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. “ - copyright dot gov I presume Mickey comes under “work for hire” - or it’s covered by different rules due its creation date.

[@WXKFA]

​@@Broswald_IncYou are confusing individual vs corporate copyrights.

[@Broswald_Inc]

@@WXKFA ok

[@Person-wz6iy]

And hey next year even more Mickey Mouse cartoons will enter the public domain! Such as Plane Crazy and The Karnival Kid, where Mickey spoke for the first time.

[@thatonepossum5766]

Wait… could they technically argue that until next year anything made with Mickey has to have him be mute? xD

[@-Teague-]

​@@thatonepossum5766probably not, but I wouldn't be surprised if they tried it.

[@-Teague-]

​@@thatonepossum5766The only way I could see having him speak being a problem is if you use a voice that's too similar to one they've used for him before

[@kuikulisorsa]

Silent version of Plane Crazy is already public domain as of 2024. With Music version next year 2025

[@barneylaurance1865]

@@thatonepossum5766 No, surely they can't rightly claim to own the very idea of mickey talking. But they do own the specific writing and performance of the voice used in their cartoons, so copying that is restricted.

[@lukestarkiller1470]

Someone needs to make a movie where the Steam Boat Willie Mickey Mouse starts a small movie business that slowly becomes a corrupt, greedy, monopolistic film empire and loses all its core values in the pursuit of more money. Then if Disney gets mad and tries to sue they’d just be proving that that’s the truth

[@Lavonne9870]

Disney turned into Scrooge Mcduck a long time ago

[@macsnafu]

Yeah, I'm still upset with Disney for getting the copyright term extended. But as you pointed out, even though Steamboat Willie is finally in the public domain, that doesn't allow for just any Mickey Mouse material to be created--there are still limits. And also as you pointed out, there's still trademarks. But what's really going to be interesting is digging into all the lesser known material that became public domain for lost treasures. Material that's been legally restricted from use because of the length of the copyright term.

[@johntracy72]

But trademark can't be used to resurrect an expired copyright, so Disney is on shaky ground.

[@kaijuguy19]

We live in such a historic moment indeed. I've got plans to do my own Mickey Mouse story and I'm making sure I can only use what I'm allowed to use and make what needed changes to him to make sure I don't get sued. Also the extensions made should never have happened in the first. Like you said there's more benefits to be done with more works entering the public domain then just keeping them in eternal copyright. Copyright laws need a serious overhaul and make it around 50 to 56 years as was intended. I've heard about a bill that's made in both 2022 and 2023 that aims to undo the lobbying made years ago and reduce copyright to around 56 years which would be a godsend. Hopefully the bill or at least something like that will get passed sooner or later.

[@sneak1677]

on the upside, now it is public I Imagine modern cartoons will be pushed away in favour of better, older cartoons

[@aruce9]

Eisner failed to protect the rat from entering the public domain, new let’s reverse the Sonny bono act and start making public domain law better

[@greenwarrior33]

I am glad Michael Mouse is free for public use. God bless the public domain

[@boredyoutubeuser]

Hey Vsauce, Michael Mouse here. Steam Boat Willy is copyright protected, or is he?...

[@jeremyriley1238]

The Steamboat Wilie version, not the more modern version we see in cartoons like Mickey Mouse Funhouse.

[@MNSweet]

Only Minerva calls him that.

[@Halcon_Sierreno]

Just hope that there are GOOD uses for the character instead of just continual shit posts.

[@Labyrinth6000]

Other charactors that are coming soon to public domain: Mickey Mouse (2024) Pluto (2025) Donald Duck (2029) Superman (2033) The characters from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (2033) James Bond (2034) Batman (2034) Captain Marvel (DC’s Shazam) (2034) The Flash (Jay Garrick version) (2035) Captain America (2036) Aquaman (2036) Wonder Woman (2036) Things are gonna get WILD. 😂

[@thatonepossum5766]

The Hobbit is the one I’m most excited for. I bet we’re gonna get some awesome stuff once that’s free to use. (Also excited for whenever Narnia enters public domain. Maybe we can get a complete set printed with the right reading order on the spines…)

[@-Teague-]

​@@thatonepossum5766glad to see I'm not the only one driven absolutely mad by the incorrect "official" reading order.

[@benjaminlehman3221]

We need to update all copyright laws. MAX copyright should be 50 years after first publication. The “90 years after death of creator” only helps corporations

[@sericsmith5770]

TBH, that would be way better than the idea of not having copyright protection at all, like some extremists would often like to propose.

[@mercster]

You're thinking about this wrong; because you're a precision-designed consumer who is always worried about what YOU get for doing nothing. Think about it this way: "If you come up with something unique and great, it will be protected for you and your family for a long time. We don't allow people who are the true innovators to be shamelessly ripped off as soon as they create something. America rewards success." I know this hasn't occurred to you, because the only thing you've created is something your mother taped to the fridge when you were in kindergarten.

[@vitalepitts]

what about GOOFY copyright?

[@sub_bacchus]

If you really think people will stop creating because their great great grandchildren would no longer recieve royalties then I don't know what to say to you ​@@mercster

[@-Teague-]

​@@mercster"America rewards success" 😂 that's such an absurdly idealistic argument to make. The current system rewards rich people in charge of corporations, not creators.

[@gr6e]

Ironic how a law made to protect creators from big business ended up protecting big business from creators. Can't wait to see what a new generation of artists can do with this character without being under a corporate chokehold.

[@REELWORKS12923]

I’ve always had a weird fascination with wanting to make a steamboat willie horror film. Something about “doing it good for once” or whatever. Honestly it could be good if it’s used as a context for the fall of industry. Anything but made for money haha.

[@Halcon_Sierreno]

Make something that's actually good.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

I think somebody is already doing the horror film.

[@wcdeich4]

Don't forget it has to be the steam boat willy version of Mickey Mouse.

[@Coffeepanda294]

Would be wonderful to live in a world where for example Star Wars was public domain, and anyone who wanted to could make remakes, video games, fan films, etc. I mean, to a certain degree they can, but they have to be indie and non-commercial enough for _Lucasfilm_ Disney not to care. Imagine all the cool stuff fans could make if they were given free reins.

[@noseboop4354]

Touhou is a great example of this, that universe is majorly built up by the fans, although technically it isn't in the public domain but the creator pretty much allows any and all fan works.

[@trajectoryunown]

Star Wars _used to be_ close to that, until Disney attacked the Expanded Universe and eclipsed the canon by ignoring countless hours of work by hundreds, if not thousands of dedicated creators just to shoehorn their nonsensical retcons.

[@thegodofalldragons]

I'd honestly rather see people make new stuff. Star Wars doesn't need to be public domain to take inspiration from it. I mean, Star Wars itself started from George Lucas wanting to make a Flash Gordon movie.

[@paraax]

This is why strong copyright should exist for no more than 50 years. The strongest properties would experience a new life while the people whom it meant the most to were alive. The copyright system creates great things, but also denies us masterpieces that die with the generation who knew the works best.

[@llewelynshingler2173]

Will Mickey become a background character in the Superzeroes?

[@dexstewart862]

My idea is to do a League of Extraordinary Gentlemen style story with Sherlock Holmes, Winnie the Pooh and the Metropolis robot going on adventures aboard Mickey's steamboat.

[@hipsterelephant2660]

Not a bad idea

[@kristofertaft194]

Loved that movie!

[@Quaquadaqu]

Sounds embarrassing

[@yuliana1628]

Remember that by featuring the short at the beginning of their most recents movies, Disney is making this older version of mickey mouse also part of their brand identity and they will use this argument to stop anyone from making anything significant with it.

[@ponodude101]

You totally should put some version of Mickey somewhere in your cinematic universe. It'd be so fun!

[@4RILDIGITAL]

Quite informative and timely. Now, more than ever, empowering creators to build on past works is crucial. You presented the complexities of copyright laws in an easy-to-understand way.

[@ZoeBateman]

wild to think that the original version of walt disney's fursona finally belongs to the public

[@ride-playerbb2818]

He's OUR fursona now

[@ZoeBateman]

@@ride-playerbb2818 publicly assigned mandatory fursona

[@nerdwarp112]

Public domain stuff is neat. I’ve been looking into public domain superheroes to see if there’s any characters that have potential for new stories. I don’t plan on making a big interconnected universe like you are, but I think it could be a fun way to get more experience with writing and drawing.

[@ThulasiShinto]

This mickey was historical for the entire animation industry but now any one can use him which is super crazy😂 Edit: guys thanks for 111 likes crazy numbers I wanna hit 1111 likes

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

You might even say it's Plane Crazy!

[@Katy133]

6:26 To add, I read that the reason why Tigger specifically is now in the public domain as of 2024 is because of The House at Pooh Corner's publishing date, as he debuted in that volume. Edit: Also, I appreciate the Team Fortress 2 reference at 6:12. Emesis Blue was what got me into the game, and that was a horror fan film animation on KZbin.

[@johnatkinson1111]

I think the 1909 54 year maximum after all extensions is the perfect balance for copyright, you get 1 or 2 nostalgia cycles which is where most of the money is and then it's available for everyone and the default is 28 years with 2 renewal cycles so if a piece of media isn't popular then it may become public earlier. By making it 95 years (or life of author + 70 years whichever is shorter) the works are well past their prime and as we've seen with public domain getting new content again its a real possibility for works to become lost especially if they aren't popular but even works that has had public interest to an extent like the Oswald the lucky rabbit cartoons have gone missing, of the Oswald cartoons released to the public domain this year 12 are lost media(I count anything with less than 50% of the cartoon as lost) with more being incomplete in different ways. 26 Oswald cartoons became public domain this year meaning 46% of the Oswald cartoons that became public domain can't be watched.

[@PetraDarklander]

A good example of why Public Domain is great is when Michal Jackson purchased the rights to the entirety of the Beatles music catalog... and did absolutely nothing with it and forbid anyone else doing anything with it. That's why it wasn't in any of the Guitar Hero games, and therefore not exposing new generations to their music.

[@imaniislander755]

Happy new years to all and to all a fun mickey adaption!!!!🥳🥳🥳🥳

[@imaniislander755]

39 minutes in

[@alanw737]

I can’t imagine the tsunami of weird shit that will be incoming.

[@dabatman5187]

I really pray that copyright will be fixed in the US. Unironicly the current copyright has ruined movies, and art, cause now companies are contempt at just thriving off of their old works instead of making something new

[@colinmartin9797]

I hate the idea that stuff remains untouchable for five entire generations. That's absolute nonsense.

[@JordisYoutubing]

Only works published before 1978 have 95 year copyright. Everything after is Life of Author plus 70 years in the USA unless it was made for hire.

[@JordisYoutubing]

@paramountparamount6815 Only ‘works for hire’ get 95 years, which isn’t what he said.

[@JordisYoutubing]

@paramountparamount6815 You replied to ME who was mentioning something HE said.

[@fiddleriddlediddlediddle]

"Sure, public domain means that plenty of less-than-satisfying adaptations can be made" Because we all know that copyright holders never produce anything unsatisfying. Looking at you, Star Wars.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

He makes this point because tons of people are wringing their hands and writing about how Mickey falling into the public domain is a tragedy because not-so-family-friendly works will now be created.

[@Apanblod]

News: "Vintage Mickey Mouse to become public domain as of 2024!" Disney: 🧐 News: "Copyright laws related to public domain to see a drastic overhaul as of 2024!"

[@BroadwayRonMexico]

At most, they could try and keep later iterations of Mickey from falling into public domain, but what's gone into PD cant be copyrighted, apart from iterative differences between derived works. But considering their recent difficulties and internal woes, i dont think theyre in the same position to lobby as hard as they used to. It seems they're taking the approach of aggressively trademarking instead. Which means you can use Mickey, but only Disney can put him in their logo and monetize his likeness in anything branded.

[@BreadleyYourHero]

5:45 Sherlock Holmes: and the wizard of oz, sounds like a fire novel, "its quite elementary Watson he isn't a Wizard at all but a man hiding behind technology" (pulls back curtain) "My Goodness Holmes, you've done it again"

[@napalmwolf1728]

Now it’s OUR turn to own something you cherish Disney

[@Quaquadaqu]

Wow you showed them

[@rogergarciaofficial]

You said "To be clear, the ONLY THING entering the public domain is the Steamboat Willie version of the character". To be extra clear, that's not entirely true. "Steamboat Willie" as a work in its ENTIRETY is entered into the public domain today. This includes all the characters (not just the Mickey), which also include Minnie and Pete from this film, all the background characters, the scenery, the script, the score (music), the title "Steamboat Willie" and all other elements that comprise the work as a whole may be used to create derivative works (keeping in mind the active trademark on the Disney characters as it stands). Hope that helps clear up some of the confusion. Otherwise, great video!

[@joenorsworthy]

Remember that Walt Disney built his empire retelling his own animated version of stories that were in the public domain.

[@willg125]

Interestingly, there was an all girls Catholic school in Philadelphia that had the 1928 mickey mouse as their mascot. They were granted permission by Disney in 1930, surprisingly. The school closed in 2021, but the painted renditions still line the walls in the old building.

[@blockybaconman1413]

I do sincerely hope that many of the copyright extensions get repealed. They do little but stagnate innovation.

[@jer1776]

Disney lobbyists would never allow it.

[@ranelgallardo7031]

@@jer1776Also It’s not just Disney as you see in the video. Comcast, Paramount, Warner Bros, and sports leagues will fight that too.

[@Quaquadaqu]

It stagnates innovation not letting you use other people’s ip’s? Why don’t you do some innovating yourself and come up with some original ideas, or is that too hard?

[@jer1776]

​@@Quaquadaqu Many people are afraid to do just that because of potential lawsuits from copyright trolls because something could be seen as too close to an existing work. Even if you think the original 14-28 year is too low, dont you think 40 or 50 years is better, especially to prevent old works from being lost to time?

[@doomdimensiondweller5627]

Disney has been on such a huge decline as of late, them losing their mascot is such a great symbolic act LMAO

[@animezilla4486]

This is awful

[@mildly_miffed_man1414]

@@animezilla4486what’s awful. them losing? because that’s actually quite funny.

[@skygodofallurya]

Copyright is to protect artists and creators. The fact that some faceless corporation gets to hold copyright long after the person who made the work is dead and in the grave, strangling every last dollar out of something it had no hand in creating, is ridiculous. Copyright should be (life of the artis+10 years) or something similar, with only the artist and their estate being able to profit from it.

[@theincrediblespiderdude5454]

I just hope Mickey eventually appear in your cinematic universe.

[@4fives992]

It's going to be very interesting what comes out of Steamboat Willie being in the public domain.

[@jakescartoons6045]

This is amazing. Of course, if I wanted to, I could just use the original design for Mickey in my cartoons, but what I think I’m actually gonna do is slightly redesign him in a way that honors the original, but has my own style. I did the same thing with Arsène Lupin after all, and I plan to do the same with other public domain characters.

[@lokidogproductions1289]

Yup, I would be suprised if disney did not at least try. If not I am sure they are not still upset by it, and probably dread what others will do with free use of steam boat willie.

[@stillbuyvhs]

In the U.S., new copyrights last 70 years after the death of a work's creator, same as most countries in the world.. The 95 year thing is a kludge, meant to make works published under the U.S.'s old copyright code last as long as they might've if the U.S. joined the Berne Convention sooner. To some extent the U.S. copyright system is _less_ strict than the rest of the worlds. Since the U.S. used to require works to be registered & renewed to maintain their copyright, there's a lot of stuff that's public domain in the U.S. that's probably not in other countries, like the character "Cat Man".

[@nikaoharbour6962]

Steamboat willie in Moby Dick part 2: Moby's Revenge! Starring Kevin Costner

[@UsernameUsernameson]

95 years is absurd; during this time several generations will change. Most of the lesser known franchises will simply die.

[@austinreed7343]

Well, at least we had people like Alan Moore digging up old, lesser-known stuff.

[@duomaxwell6523]

It's been a LONG...LONG...LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG time coming, but welcome to the Public Domain, Mickey Mouse! You're free at last from your almost-100-years-old copyright jail! Actually...you should've BEEN out of your copyright jail DECADES ago!

[@CSLucasEpic]

Remember everbody, its not just Sreamboat Willie, but also Plane Crazy, the other Mickey short Disney made in 1928.

[@Untolddead]

Disney has destroyed the copyright system. Corporate dragons sitting on copyright hoards.

[@johntracy72]

Smaug hoarding his gold.

[@samym1694]

Disney made Hercules without Copyright Strikes from Greece

[@TokuNorth]

It's time! Let's band together and make a Steamboat Willie horror movie! The Curse of Willie

[@Slime.tsunami]

Here in the uk he’s been in the public domain since 2019.

[@DawidSikora]

The current copyright law is insane. Even having 20 years of protecton since creation would be more than enough to earn billions of dollars for the corporation

[@oliverbrownlow5615]

Many copyrights are owned by individual authors or creators.

[@thegodofalldragons]

20 years isn't even long enough for One Piece to finish. Also: there wouldn't be a Star Wars with such a short copyright, because George Lucas would've just made a Flash Gordon movie instead.

[@simonagree4070]

This one should be called "Dan O'Neil/Air Pirates Day"!

[@LJ4Tasyo]

Here's my pitch, It's basically the Disney Jungle Cruise movie. Same cast. The Rock's character is named Steamboat Willie, and he never wears a shirt.

[@ZetaReticuli1.]

niiiice

[@ReddyToAnimate]

It’s not the first time an old school Disney cartoon like Steamboat Willie entered the public domain. Others had reached the public domain as well like some Donald cartoons (Toy Tinkers, Donald VS The Gorilla and Cured Duck for example), some Goofy cartoons (Hockey Homicide, Fathers Are People and Baggage Buster for example), some Pluto cartoons (Dog Watch, T-Bone For Two and Pluto’s Pledging for example) and some Silly Symphonies cartoons (Funny Little Bunnies, The Three Little Pigs and Susie The Little Blue Coupe for example). Heck, even some of the Mickey Mouse cartoons like Moving Day, Mickey’s Rival and Moose Hunters for example got the same treatment too.

[@thetman0068]

Imagine an indie company making a “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” style film with all the upcoming public domain early cartoon characters.

[@arnowisp6244]

That would be nice but the challenge is that they might as well have used Original Characters as most of those are Unknowns anyways.

[@Volvith]

Basically: Why copyright should not exist, same as pantents and pretty much everything that disallows the free use of ideas and concepts for and by everyone. I'm sick and tired of corporations going _'no you can't do any variation of the thing because we already did the thing and now we're the only ones allowed to do the thing'._ That should be illegal. I don't care how much chaos it causes, how badly it breaks the internet and modern commerce, all damage be damned, copyright and patents should not exist, period.

[@RedYellowBird6889]

How interesting never thought i would live to see the day but here we our that damn mouse finally left disney's hands, well one version that is but we take our wins where we can get them.

[@bobisapanda2655]

It's crazy something like this and happy late new year

[@TwoToRule]

Time to make a Mickey Mouse dart board

[@sansventura7199]

Here. We. Go!

[@jer1776]

The fact we live in a country where Disney can just buy legislation like that is a joke.

[@Guy-cb1oh]

They can't. Disney's lobbying influence has been greatly exaggerated.

[@vrclckd-zz3pv]

0:00 You're right, Austin. I never thought Tom Scott would retire, but here we are 😭

[@RemnantCult]

The public domain acknowledges that all works created by humankind will eventually, and always, become a part of humanity's core of identity. To codify that away is to deny a part of our collective being. Basically, keep making cool stuff because it benefits not just you, but everyone.

[@samnelson7428]

Also it doesn't even decrease the incentive or pay for the writer. There is literally zero incentive for an exec to pay someone more because they know they'll own the work 90 years after they die instead of 80, or 200, because the exec will not be alive then. Publisher's interests are within the lifepsans of those who own them. The author loses nothing, no incentive is lost, and I'd bet almost all artists would rather people be eventually able to use their work, they have no reason to want the publisher to control it forever, they gain nothing from that. Fanfiction is the ultimate vindication of a writer.

[@iantaakalla8180]

If the work is bad, fanfiction is the ultimate condemnation of a work and an author. That is equivalent to saying “you and your work is a joke at best and a blight on average, and here is why”.

[@59hawks]

Fun fact someone went through all Steam boat Willy related promotion. With this they have found that Mickey can wear red shorts, doesn't need a hat, and can wear brownish yellow shoes and its not a breach of copyright. Due to posters.

[@josephwodarczyk977]

Related thing: Sherlock Holmes is only an ass in the public domain books. So everyone today is legally required to make him cold.

[@edo.creative]

It would have been cool if you'd have shown when whatever is shown on screen is set to enter the Public Domain.

[@r3n3gad33]

Shrek 5 is in production meaning Dreamworks could have access to the perfect villain.

[@CptnCobblestone]

I think the start of this will force Disney to start innovating and less repeating of the same IPs. Steamboat Willy, as well as Mickey Mouse, is a beloved favorite, but they can’t rely on it for life. They need to be pushed to creative new things. Public domain is good for that

[@Quaquadaqu]

How does Disney rely on steamboat Willie or Mickey Mouse other than him being a logo? Disney has many ip’s more valuable than Mickey.

[@CptnCobblestone]

@@Quaquadaqu Read your last sentence and take a walk through Disneyland or Disneyworld. It is abundantly clear that the mouse carries the weight of the entire company. It is because he’s the logo and mascot that gives the company it’s overall branding. The marketing, the kids shows, the merchandise, everything. If you walk around Florida, even on the outskirts of orlando, it is extremely common to see people wearing Mickey Mouse shirts. They’ve even got subliminal advertising down pat. When you rely on one thing, you will inevitably stunt your growth and come to a holt creatively. They will continue to milk the mouse for everything it has. Force of IPs into public domain will birth creation. It’s an incredibly big deal.