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Steamboat Willie entered the public domain in 2024

The 1928 cartoon was Mickey Mouse's first release

Steamboat Willie premiered on 18 November 1928 and was one of the first cartoons with synchronised sound. Its copyright expired in the United States on 1 January 2024, so that early version of Mickey Mouse became public domain. Later versions of the character remain protected.

Mickey Mouse - Steamboat Willie (1928) — Walt Disney / Ub Iwerks · Public domain · source

Where this comes from

US Copyright Office

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Tags: disney, public-domain, animation

Steamboat Willie entered the public domain in 2024: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: The 1928 cartoon was Mickey Mouse's first release. The figure is taken from US Copyright Office, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a movies & tv fact?: Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.