January 1 saw Disney losing the copyright to the original “Steamboat Willie” Mickey Mouse—and now the character is onto new, decidedly “un-Disney” adventures. The fact that Disney lost the original Steamboat Willie copyright after 95 years of Mickey Mouse this year is all fans can talk about at the moment. The event is extraordinary. The Mickey Mouse cartoon is the foundation ...

Clearly, people have been waiting for this moment for a while. They have been preparing for Mickey Mouse to enter the public domain so they can do whatever they choose with the beloved symbol of the Walt Disney Company without fear of repercussions. And that was probably the draw of all this: the ability to take a classic American icon ...

Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie is soon to set sail one final time, and the journey will be a one-way trip. But his destination is still unknown, as copyright protection law is a many-splendored thing. And while some think of the loss of Steamboat Willie as nominal, true Disney fans understand how great a loss it actually is. Related:Fans Celebrate Mickey ...