January 1, 2024 Public Domain Day

December 31, 2023 2:15 PM

Sound recordings from 1923 and works for 1928 are free to use and share under US copyright law.
posted by Ideefixe (30 comments total)

so instead of paying Apple $250,000 out to 2090 for streaming if just sit tight until then I'll get it all for free??
posted by torokunai at 2:32 PM on December 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

'Mack the Knife,' but the role of the serial killer is played by Steamboat Willie.
posted by box at 2:44 PM on December 31, 2023 [17 favorites]

Only 57 years after the creator of Steamboat Willie died! Will no one think of the rightsholders?
posted by Ickster at 3:14 PM on December 31, 2023 [8 favorites]

You might be able to get Steamboat Willie for free, but the ointment to cure it still costs money.
posted by scruss at 4:10 PM on December 31, 2023 [26 favorites]

Finally, I can publish my Tigger-Lady Chatterly's Lover mashup.
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 4:36 PM on December 31, 2023 [7 favorites]

Only 57 years after the creator of Steamboat Willie died! Will no one think of the rightsholders?

Why do you think they waited this long?
posted by jmauro at 4:46 PM on December 31, 2023

I dunno about you, but now that it's legal to call it a "Steamboat Willie" it feels far less filthy.
posted by phooky at 5:02 PM on December 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

OH MY GOD PEOPLE: Millions of Cats!!!

And the songs: "Let's Do It," and "You're the Cream in my Coffee"???

Every single year I forget that Public Domain Day has rolled around again, and every single year I'm reminded that it's one of my very favorite things about the New Year.

Hooray for the public domain, and for Duke's fabulous Center for the Study of the Public Domain and highlighting of Public Domain Day - and hooray for you, Ideefixe, for reminding me, and sharing this with us!

MILLIONS OF CATS! Yay.
posted by kristi at 5:37 PM on December 31, 2023 [8 favorites]

Little rat feet, feel free to repeat
Big clunky shoes, you copy and lose
posted by Catblack at 5:44 PM on December 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

Oh, man. The Marx Brothers' Animal Crackers is now public domain. Including the immortal Hello, I Must Be Going/Hooray For Captain Spaulding numbers. That's a play that has absolutely astonishing moments of comedy but it's very much a product of its time; it'd be amazing to see what a good modern comedy ensemble could do with it.
posted by MrVisible at 6:45 PM on December 31, 2023 [7 favorites]

Wolverine Blues (recorded by the Benson Orchestra of Chicago)

♬ Snikt, bub! ♬
posted by The Pluto Gangsta at 8:30 PM on December 31, 2023 [4 favorites]

Expect The Steamboat Willie Murders to hit streaming by this summer.
posted by Faint of Butt at 9:10 PM on December 31, 2023 [1 favorite]

Only a couple years until you can use the classic big shoes, white gloves, and the anvil tied to his neck.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:57 PM on December 31, 2023 [2 favorites]

I asked DALL*E to draw Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie and got the following:

As of January 1, 2024, the specific version of Mickey Mouse from "Steamboat Willie" (1928) has entered the public domain in the United States. However, I am programmed to follow certain policies regarding the creation of images, and one of those policies includes not creating images of copyrighted characters. This policy is in place regardless of the current copyright status of the character.
posted by Omon Ra at 10:25 PM on December 31, 2023 [3 favorites]

Because I'm lazy, I'm just going to point out that both Heart of Darkness and Steamboat Willie are now public domain.

Somebody get on that.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 10:34 PM on December 31, 2023 [14 favorites]

Mickey-1928 is fine-tuned version of Stable-Diffusion-xl trained on 96 stills in the public domain from 1928.

Mickey-1928 can generate images of Mickey, Minnie and, to a much lesser extent, Pete (with the prompt PeteLegPete).

posted by BungaDunga at 12:43 AM on January 1

I'm just going to point out that both Heart of Darkness and Steamboat Willie are now public domain.
Willie of Darkness has probably been done.
posted by pracowity at 1:32 AM on January 1 [2 favorites]

Finally, I can publish my Tigger-Lady Chatterly's Lover mashup.

"Ooh, aren't you bouncy," she gasped, poshly.
posted by Paul Slade at 1:58 AM on January 1 [12 favorites]

"... Heart of Darkness and Steamboat Willie are now public domain."

The horror ... the horror.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 5:51 AM on January 1 [1 favorite]

With guns blazing and a retro rubber hose animation style, battle your way through a corrupt city full of crooks and danger. Inspired by classic FPS and noir films, MOUSE is the explosive shooter you've been waiting for.

CUPHEAD, but grosser and Mickey-er. Expected release in December 2025.
posted by HeroZero at 7:27 AM on January 1

Don't let anyone tell you the clunky shoes are still under copyright. Mickey is wearing them right there in Steamboat Willie.

I'm a little disappointed in how few redraws/remixes I'm seeing this morning. It's like DALL-E came along and everyone forgot how to use pens and photoshop.
posted by phooky at 10:00 AM on January 1

Randy Milholland of Something Positive and Popeye (in his own words) tempts fate with Mousetrapped, a continuation of Steamboat Willie.

Also, there is this shirt by the Unbeatable Squirrel Girl artist Erica Henderson.
posted by LostInUbe at 3:28 PM on January 1 [5 favorites]

Wait, so Horny Jeff is public domain?
posted by credulous at 8:01 PM on January 1

The wikipedia edit history for Steamboat Willie has a lengthy revert war debating whether it is ok to flag it as public domain at midnight EST or if they have to wait for the whole US to be in 2024.

Perhaps Disney should lobby for harmonization laws to establish "Anywhere on Earth Time" as the date of copyright expiration. Once that relatively uncontroversial proposal is agreed upon, they can buy a sovereign island and declare it's timezone to be GMT-2147483647 (for compatibility with 32-bit legal systems) and enjoy another 68 years of IP protection.
posted by autopilot at 1:29 AM on January 2 [2 favorites]

Although do remember that in Steamboat Willie, Mickey tortures animals to the tune of a racist song and in Plane Crazy, he kisses Minnie without consent and then throws her out of an airplane when she rejects him. He's not a good role model and the movies have lots of baggage.
posted by autopilot at 3:14 AM on January 2 [1 favorite]

Yeah, people don't necessarily like Mickey.
posted by pracowity at 11:34 AM on January 2 [3 favorites]

‘Steamboat Willie’ Horror Film Announced as Mickey Mouse Enters Public Domain
posted by Melismata at 4:21 PM on January 2 [1 favorite]

I think I'd respect the shallow public-domain cash grabs a little bit more if they were X-rated rather than R-rated. Steamboat Willie indeed.
posted by BungaDunga at 4:34 PM on January 2 [2 favorites]

I think I'd respect the shallow public-domain cash grabs a little bit more if they were X-rated rather than R-rated.

I'm pretty sure Snow White, Pinocchio, et al, weren't even R rated. But I agree that they left money on the table, there.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 5:25 PM on January 2

Most everyone has been remixing the black and white Steamboat Willy, although it appears that the red shorts and yellow gloves might also be in the public domain. Back in 2012 an auction house sold a Mickey Mouse color poster dated to 1928, which has him wearing the iconic outfit and would place the color version into the same out-of-copyright state.

(Unlike Winnie the Pooh who is out of copyright only if he is in the nude, but still in copyright if he is wearing a red shirt. This creates the possibility of a Schrodinger's Pooh, which is simultaneously infringing Disney's copyright and not, depending on what is hidden behind the box)
posted by autopilot at 10:01 AM on January 3