Episode Details

An early version of Mickey Mouse, the famous Disney character, will soon belong to you, me and everybody else. 

著名的迪士尼角色米老鼠的早期版本很快将属于你、我和其他所有人。

The mouse that started a Hollywood empire, along with several other characters, movies, and books will enter the public domain on January 1st. 

开创好莱坞帝国的老鼠以及其他几个角色、电影和书籍将于 1 月 1 日进入公共领域。 

Public domain is the term to describe creative works that are no longer protected by U.S. copyright law. Once a work enters the public domain, it can legally be shared, performed, reused, or repurposed without permission or cost. 

公共领域是描述不再受美国版权法保护的创意作品的术语。 一旦作品进入公共领域，就可以合法地共享、表演、重复使用或改变用途，无需许可或支付费用。 

Mickey Mouse, and Minnie Mouse, first appeared publicly in the 1928 film Steamboat Willie. Copyright law at the time provided protection for 75 years. But in 1998, U.S. law extended copyright protection for another 20 years. 

米奇和米妮首次公开亮相是在 1928 年的电影《威利汽船》中。 当时的版权法提供了 75 年的保护。 但1998年，美国法律将版权保护又延长了20年。 

Jennifer Jenkins is head of Duke University’s Center for the Study of Public Domain. Jenkins says copyright law is sometimes called the Mickey Mouse Protection Act. As the character is about to enter the public domain, she says “This is it. This is Mickey Mouse. This is exciting because it’s kind of symbolic.” 

詹妮弗·詹金斯 (Jennifer Jenkins) 是杜克大学公共领域研究中心的负责人。 詹金斯说，版权法有时被称为“米老鼠保护法”。 当这个角色即将进入公共领域时，她说：“就是这样。 这是米老鼠。 这很令人兴奋，因为它具有象征意义。”

In a statement, the Disney Company told The Associated Press, “Ever since Mickey Mouse’s first appearance in the 1928 short film Steamboat Willie, people have associated the character with Disney’s stories, experiences, and authentic products.” The company added, “More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright,…”