One oddity regarding characters is that the only thing that becomes public domain is the character as portrayed in that public domain material. In the case of M

One oddity regarding characters is that the only thing that becomes public domain is the character as portrayed in that public domain material. In the case of Mickey, that means only his appearance in Steamboat Willie would become public domain in 2024, with more material being released to the public domain each year. What that entails is... sort of confusing, I think, and will come down to individual cases. Depending on how it is used, a post-2024 portrayal of Mickey might be a copyright violation or might not be. Additionally, Mickey is also trademarked, which lasts forever as long as it is used commercially by the owner. So the mouse's likeness is not likely to be public domain as long as the Disney company exists and continues to use it.