Mickey Mouse Will Soon Belong to You, Me, Everyone

2023-12-19 15:20:52来源：网络

Mickey Mouse Will Soon Belong to You, Me, Everyone

米老鼠很快就会属于你、我和所有人。

【听力音频】

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　　By Hai Do

　　17 December 2023

　　An early version of Mickey Mouse, the famous Disney character, will soon belong to you, me and everybody else.

　　The mouse that started a Hollywood empire, along with several other characters, movies, and books will enter the public domain on January 1st.

　　Public domain is the term to describe creative works that are no longer protected by U.S. copyright law. Once a work enters the public domain, it can legally be shared, performed, reused, or repurposed without permission or cost.

　　Mickey Mouse, and Minnie Mouse, first appeared publicly in the 1928 film Steamboat Willie. Copyright law at the time provided protection for 75 years. But in 1998, U.S. law extended copyright protection for another 20 years.

　　Jennifer Jenkins is head of Duke University's Center for the Study of Public Domain. Jenkins says copyright law is sometimes called the Mickey Mouse Protection Act. As the character is about to enter the public domain, she says "This is it. This is Mickey Mouse. This is exciting because it's kind of symbolic."

　　In a statement, the Disney Company told The Associated Press, "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." The company added, "More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright,..."

　　People will only be able to use the version of the mouse in Steamboat Willie that has become public. However, observers expect the courts to be busy in the coming years judging what is inside and outside Disney's ownership.

　　Disney also holds a trademark on Mickey to represent the company and its brand. That law bars the use of the character as a Disney product identifier for anyone except Disney.

　　Others in the public domain

　　Another famous animal character, Tigger, will also join his friend Winnie the Pooh in the public domain. The bouncing tiger first appeared in the book The House at Pooh Corner by British writer A.A. Milne. It turns 96 in January.

　　The silly old bear Pooh, himself, became public property two years ago when Milne's book Winnie the Pooh came of age. The soft-spoken bear, no longer protected by copyright, is seen terrorizing women in this year's horror film Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey.

　　Other creative works entering the U.S. public domain are Charlie Chaplin's film Circus, Virginia Woolf's book Orlando, and Eugene O'Neill's play Long Day's Journey into Night.

　　I'm Caty Weaver.

　　Hai Do adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting from The Associated Press.

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　　作者：Hai Do

　　日期：2023年12月17日

　　迪士尼著名角色米老鼠的早期版本，很快就会属于你、我和所有人。

　　这只开创了好莱坞帝国的老鼠，连同其他几个角色、电影和书籍，将于1月1日进入公共领域。

　　公共领域是一个术语，用来描述不再受美国版权法保护的创作作品。一旦作品进入公共领域，它可以在不需要许可或付费的情况下合法地被分享、表演、重复使用或改编。

　　米老鼠和米妮老鼠首次在1928年的电影《蒸汽船威利》中公开亮相。当时的版权法规定保护期为75年。但在1998年，美国法律将版权保护期延长了20年。

　　詹妮弗·詹金斯是杜克大学公共领域研究中心的负责人。詹金斯说，版权法有时被称为米老鼠保护法。随着这个角色即将进入公共领域，她说：“这就是米老鼠。这很令人兴奋，因为这有一种象征意义。”

　　在一份声明中，迪士尼公司告诉美联社：“自从米老鼠在1928年的短片《蒸汽船威利》中首次亮相以来，人们就将这个角色与迪士尼的故事、体验和正版产品联系在一起。”该公司补充说，“米老鼠的更现代版本将不受《蒸汽船威利》版权到期的影响，...”

　　人们只能使用已经进入公共领域的《蒸汽船威利》中的米老鼠版本。然而，观察家们预计，在未来几年，法院将忙于判断哪些内容在迪士尼的所有权内，哪些在所有权外。