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RandomFactor [soylentnews.org] writes:

In a mere 26 days, on January 1, 2019, works will again begin entering the public domain in the United States.

On that day one years worth of copyrighted works, that were first published in 1923, will become freely available to all.

A long list of affected works is available on Lifehacker [lifehacker.com], including movies, books, music, and art.

For 20 long years, the progression of works into the public domain stopped when copyright was extended in the Sonny Bono Act in 1998 to protect Disney's "Mickey Mouse"

Speaking of Disney, they’re the ones who lobbied for such long copyright terms, because in 1998 Mickey Mouse’s first appearance (in the 1928 cartoon Steamboat Willie) was close to losing its copyright. But after the Sonny Bono Act, Now that first Mickey Mouse appearance will enter the public domain in 2024.

It is an open question whether Disney will attempt to push for further extensions and changes in copyright by 2024. In the meantime however The Atlantic notes [theatlantic.com]

A Google spokesperson confirmed that Google Books stands ready. Its software is already set up so that on January 1 of each year, the material from 95 years earlier that’s currently digitized but only available for searching suddenly switches to full text.

Anyone else going to buy a Steamboat Willie shirt in 2024 and not one moment sooner?

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