[wlug] Mickey Mouse Will Be Public-Domain Soon; But What Will It Mean?

Wonder of wonders, there has been no followup to the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 <https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/01/a-whole-years-worth-of-works-just-fell-into-the-public-domain/>. That means more and more interesting things are going to fall into the public domain from this year onwards. However, things are not going to be simple: the original incarnation of Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse will be in the public domain after 2024, but later versions will still be under copyright, and the trademarks will also continue to be in effect. How will that work? Probably in the same way that “intellectual property” usually works: the one with the biggest legal budget wins.