public domain

A 1928 movie featuring the first appearance of Mickey Mouse enters public domain on Jan. 1. But creative and commercial access to the character is complicated by both copyright and trademark law.

Now that Winnie-the-Pooh is in the pubic domain, it's a free-for-all. In Winnie-the-Pooh: The Deforested Edition, the trees have are all gone. The book is by toilet paper company Who Gives A Crap.

Every year on January 1, the copyright on thousands of books, songs, films and other creative works expires. Law professor Jennifer Jenkins says 2021 is "a bumper crop."