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Tom’s Guide
Tom’s Guide
Technology
Ryan Morrison

Mickey Mouse is now public domain — and there's already an AI tool for exploiting Disney's mascot

Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie entered the public domain on January 1, 2024.

Steamboat Willie was a 1928 short film featuring an early version of both Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Nearly a century after its release it is now in the public domain, meaning its characters and scenes can be reused, recreated and sold by anyone, not just Disney.

To celebrate this highly anticipated moment a group of developers trained a version of the Stable Diffusion artificial intelligence model exclusively on public domain Mickey Mouse.

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