Culture | Copy wrongs

A new book looks at the past and future of copyright

Whether it benefits creators or fuels inequality depends on who you ask

Mickey Mouse walks ominously through a doorway in “Mickey’s Mouse Trap”. — Not your usual suspectImage: AP

Jan 18th 2024

IF WALT DISNEY were still alive, he would be dismayed at the new film role given to his signature character, Mickey Mouse, as a slasher hunting teenagers in an old arcade. The trailer for “Mickey’s Mouse Trap” was released on January 1st. That is the day the copyright of “Steamboat Willie”, the short film that introduced Mickey Mouse’s character in 1928, expired. This early version of Mickey is now in the public domain.

This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Copy wrongs”