Dec 13, 2023 20:00:00

What works will be in the public domain in 2024? Mickey Mouse's 'Steamboat Willie' finally enters the public domain

On January 1st of each year, content whose copyright protection period has expired becomes

public domain and can be freely used, reproduced, and shared. The Public Domain Review, an online journal that introduces works that have become public domain, has compiled content that will become public domain in 2024.

What Will Enter the Public Domain in 2024? – The Public Domain Review
https://publicdomainreview.org/features/entering-the-public-domain/2024/

Most of the works that will become public domain on January 1, 2023 are 'works by people who died in 1953' and 'works by people who died in 1973.' This applies to countries where the term of protection for a work is ``70 years after the death of the author'' (e.g. the UK, Russia, most countries in the EU, South America) and countries where the term of protection for a work is ``50 years after the death of the author'' ( For example: New Zealand, Africa, many countries in Asia). In principle, the term of copyright protection in Japan is 70 years after the death of the author . In addition, movies and books (including artwork) published in the United States in 1928 will be treated as public domain from January 1, 2023.

◆Steamboat Willie
One of the most notable is Steamboat Willie , a Disney short animated film released in the United States on November 18, 1928. This is the memorable first film in the Mickey Mouse short film series , and was directed by Walt Disney, the creator of Disney , and Ub Iwerks , the creator of Mickey Mouse.

Steamboat Willie, a black-and-white Disney film, is considered the debut of Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, although both characters first appeared in

Plane Crazy , which was screened several months before the film's release. It seems like it is. Steamboat Willie was the first animated film in the world to feature a completely post-produced soundtrack.

The song that Mickey Mouse whistles in Steamboat Willie is called ``Steamboat Bill,'' an arrangement by Wilfred Jackson and Bert Lewis of the song of the same name by baritone singer Arthur Collins, which was popular in the 1910s. Thing. Another song that plays on Steamboat Willie is ' Turkey in the Straw, ' which was popular among minstrels in the 19th century.

Steamboat Willie is not only the memorable first work in the Mickey Mouse series, but has also received high praise from critics as a work that revolutionized animation technology. In 1994, Steamboat Willie was ranked 13th in the `` The 50 Greatest Cartoons '' book, which lists the top 50 animation works in history.

On the other hand, Steamboat Willie is deeply involved in the copyright protection period in the United States, and the copyright protection period has been extended four times so far. The first copyright protection period expired in 1955, and at this time the protection period was extended to 1986. Furthermore, the term of protection was extended to 2003 by the Copyright Act in 1976, and further extended to 2023 by the Copyright Extension Act enacted in 1998. The extension of the copyright protection period for Steamboat Willie in the United States is all due to lobbying efforts by Disney, and the Copyright Extension Act is sometimes referred to as the ``Mickey Mouse Protection Act.''

What changes have been made to copyright laws so far to protect the copyright of 'Mickey Mouse'? -GIGAZINE

By Tom Bricker

◆Karl Blossfeldt's art work
German botanist and photographer Karl Blossfeld published his first photo book, Urformen der Kunst ( Art Forms in Plants ), at the age of 63, just four years before his death. did. Art Forms in Plants features amazing photos of plants, all of them in high definition, as if taken through a microscope. Critic Walter Benjamin, one of the first to review Blossfeld's photography books, praised Art Forms in Plants for showing what was invisible to the naked eye, retrospectively or technologically. did.

◆J.R.R. Tolkien's works
The books of J.R.R. Tolkien , a British author known as the author of `` The Hobbit '' and `` The Lord of the Rings ,'' will also become public domain on January 1, 2023. Although many authors had published fantasy works before Tolkien, the success of Tolkien's works greatly contributed to the revival of popularity in the fantasy genre, and he became known around the world as the ``father of high fantasy.'' became.

◆Orlando
`` Orlando ,'' written by British novelist Virginia Woolf, is also one of the works that will be in the public domain. Orlando is one of Woolf's most famous works, and was inspired by the turbulent family history of Woolf's lover and best friend, the aristocrat, poet, and novelist Vita Sackville-West . Orlando tells the adventures of a poet who changes his gender from male to female and lives for centuries, as he meets some of the most important figures in English literary history.

◆Artworks of Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso , an artist born in Malaga, Spain, is known as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. He is the founder of Cubism and the inventor of architectural sculpture. His representative works include `` Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, '' which is considered the origin of Cubism, and `` Guernica ,'' a dramatic depiction of the bombing of Guernica by the German and Italian air forces during the Spanish Civil War.