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

Enlarge / The copyright to The Great Gatsby-the 1925 novel, not the 2013 movie starring Leonardo di Caprio-will expire two years from today. (credit: Warner Bros. Picture)

As the ball dropped over Times Square last night, all copyrighted works published in 1923 fell into the public domain (with a few exceptions). Everyone now has the right to republish them or adapt them for use in new works.

It's the first time this has happened in 21 years.

In 1998, works published in 1922 or earlier were in the public domain, with 1923 works scheduled to expire at the beginning of 1999. But then Congress passed the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act. It added 20 years to the terms of older works, keeping 1923 works locked up until 2019.

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