Welcome to FTW Explains, a guide to catching up on and better understanding stuff going on in the world. Have you seen some stuff about a version of Mickey Mouse and how Disney’s copyright on it is expiring? And you’re very confused about that whole thing? Don’t worry. We’re here to help.
Maybe you didn’t think you’d ever be diving into copyright issues, but here we are: There’s a Mickey Mouse that’s now public domain.
Notice how I said “a” Mickey. Because you can’t go out and sell a movie or a book with the high-pitched voiced Disney mouse and avoid a copyright violation.
No, this has to do with an earlier version. Like I said, we’ll explain: