In recent years you may have heard of some popular book and movie characters becoming public domain. You may know that it means that you can make things like films and books about the characters. The true question is why? 

The primary example for this story is Steamboat Willie. This was a 1928 short film that is widely known as the first appearance of Mickey Mouse and was well known for its innovative animation. The thing is that after 95 years, the copyright for the character had officially worn off and there is no more possible renewal which ended up in 2024. This means that anyone could do anything with the character, right? Wrong. Disney fought the expiration and did manage to fight a bit. Disney argued that only Steamboat Willie expired and that is not the same as the later iterations of the character Mickey Mouse. This finalizes the argument and makes it so that you can use the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse and not the modern one. 

Some of the characters that are popular and have entered the public domain are the Grinch, Charlie Brown, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and many many more. These characters being public has sparked many indie films made with them. One of the most popular ones is the Winnie The Pooh: Blood and Honey film which has even sparked a sequel that is more well regarded. Companies that had owned these characters are not too happy for how they are being used because it taints the image of the character and of their company, like how Pooh was a kid friendly forest creature and not a murderous beast.