According to Cointelegraph: The early variant of Walt Disney Company’s iconic Mickey Mouse, featured in the 1928 film "Steamboat Willie", has become the number one trending nonfungible token (NFT) on OpenSea after its copyright expired on January 1.
This expiration marks the first time the character has entered the public domain, as U.S. law restricts copyright protection to a maximum period of 95 years.
In response to the change in copyright status, three NFT collections linked to the character have dominated OpenSea’s 24-hour trending list. The collection titled "Steamboat Willie Public Domain 2024" clinched the top spot with roughly $1.2 million in trading volume. The "Steamboat Willie" and "Steamboat Willie's Riverboat" collections secured the second and third positions, respectively.
The "Steamboat Willie Public Domain 2024" collection also secured the sixth spot on OpenSea's 24-hour top charts, sharing the charts with popular collections like Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) and Pudgy Penguins.
While the copyright for the classic mascot version has indeed lapsed, Disney has clarified that the copyright on modern versions of Mickey Mouse will remain unaffected by the expiry. The company is keen to continue protecting their right over the contemporary versions and seeks to guard against unauthorized use of Mickey Mouse and other iconic characters to avoid consumer confusion.