Mickey Mouse's Steamboat Willie Enters Public Domain, Spawning New Meme Coin
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Steamboat Willie, the first Mickey Mouse cartoon from 1928, entered the public domain on January 1st, 2024. This means artists can now use the early cartoon version without permission.
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Within hours, a new meme token called MICKEY was minted to commemorate Mickey entering the public domain. The token is inspired by the Steamboat Willie cartoon.
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Meme coins are volatile digital tokens based on Internet jokes, memes, or culturally important figures.
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U.S. copyright law allows rights to characters to be held for 95 years, which is why Steamboat Willie only entered the public domain now.
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Although the 1928 Mickey is public, Disney said it will continue protecting rights to more modern versions that remain under copyright.