On the first of January 2024 Steamboat Willie, the first cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse, entered the public domain.

This means that Disney lost the Copyright to the earliest iteration of Mickey Mouse.

This version of the mouse was. Black and White, had long skinny appendages with no gloves on his hands, didn’t speak and had solid black eyes. Disney still hold the copyright to all other versions and more importantly still retains the Mickey Mouse trademark.

An in depth article about the issue can be found on the Cartoon Brew website.