In just a few short days, an early version of Disney’s most iconic character will join the public domain for the first time. For nearly a century, the image of Mickey Mouse has been married to the ...

The copyright on Mickey Mouse expires today, meaning The Walt Disney Company no longer has the exclusive rights to the character. Does this mean you can put Mickey in your own cartoon? Not exactly.

M-I-C-K-E-Y will soon belong to you and me. With several asterisks, qualification and caveats, Mickey Mouse in his earliest form will be the leader of the band of characters, films, and books that ...