A mouse in every house? Mickey enters public domain in 2024.

家家有鼠？米奇将于2024年进入公有领域。（译者注：公有领域是指在版权法和专利法中，处于公有状态的作品和技术发明等，任何人均可自由利用处于公有领域的作品和技术发明而不构成侵权。）

Mickey Mouse – specifically the version introduced in 1928’s “Steamboat Willie” – is one of several works entering the public domain next year.

米老鼠，确切来说是1928年《汽船威利号》中首次亮相的那版米老鼠，将在2024年进入公有领域。

Disney will retain the copyright to modern versions of the mouse.

不过，迪士尼仍将保留现代版本米老鼠的版权。

M-I-C-K-E-Y will soon belong to you and me.

很快，M-I-C-K-E-Y 就会属于你和我。

“This is it. This is Mickey Mouse. This is exciting because it’s kind of symbolic,” said Jennifer Jenkins, a professor of law and director of Duke’s Center for the Study of Public Domain, who writes an annual Jan. 1 column for “Public Domain Day.”

“没错，就是它。就是米老鼠。这太令人激动了，因为它具有某种象征意义”，杜克大学公有领域研究中心主任、法学教授詹妮弗·詹金斯说道，她每年1月1日都会为“公有领域日”撰写专栏文章。

United States law allows a copyright to be held for 95 years after Congress expanded it several times during Mickey’s life.

自米奇诞生以来，美国国会曾多次延长它的的版权期限，这使得米奇的版权保护期长达95年。

“It’s sometimes derisively referred to as the Mickey Mouse Protection Act,”Ms. Jenkins said.“That’s oversimplified because it wasn’t just Disney that was pushing for term extension. It was a whole group of copyright holders whose works were set to go into the public domain soon, who benefited greatly from the 20 years of extra protection.”

詹金斯女士表示：“这个法案有时被戏称为‘米老鼠保护法’，这种说法其实过于简单化了。因为推动版权保护期延长的并不只有迪士尼一家，而是一大批版权持有者，他们的作品都即将进入公有领域，而他们从这20年的额外保护中获利巨多。”

“Ever since Mickey Mouse’s first appearance in the 1928 short film Steamboat Willie, people have associated the character with Disney’s stories, experiences, and authentic products,” a Disney spokesperson said in a statement to The Associated Press.