If you’ve had lifelong dreams of producing a psychological thriller starring Mickey Mouse without getting sued, your time has come: As of yesterday, anyone is allowed to create content featuring the earliest version of Disney’s flagship rodent.

Disney is known for aggressively protecting its intellectual property, but the entertainment giant just had to kiss its exclusive rights to the original Mickey and Minnie Mouse goodbye. That’s because the company’s 95-year copyright on the 1928 cartoon short Steamboat Willie, in which the characters first appeared, expired as the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve.

So, nearly a century after the celebrity couple debuted in black and white, they’re now in the US public domain and free to use, with some limitations:

• Only the original versions of Mickey and Minnie, as they appear in Steamboat Willie, are up for grabs. Character details introduced in later years, including their white gloves, Mickey’s classic red pants, Minnie’s polka dots, and their high-pitched voice, are off limits.
• Disney still has a registered trademark on Steamboat Willie Mickey as a company mascot, so folks who use the character’s likeness have to make it clear that their project isn’t an official Disney production.

This could be the year of the NSFW mouse

With OG Mickey finally out of Disney’s copyright clutches, creative types are wasting no time ruining our childhoods.

In a new horror video game announced yesterday, an unhinged-looking Mickey Mouse hunts players in a dark warehouse. It could be the trickle before the flood: Techdirt is hosting its sixth annual Public Domain Game Jam, which encourages people to design games using media that entered the public domain that year.

What else became free on this year’s “Public Domain Day”? You can see the full list here. Noteworthy properties include the stage adaptation of Peter Pan and the second Winnie-the-Pooh book, which introduced Tigger. Now that he’s in the public domain, the bouncing tiger will join his pals in the sequel to Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, last year’s slasher film featuring Christopher Robin’s free-to-use childhood friends.—ML

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Israel’s high court overturns controversial judicial overhaul. In an 8–7 vote, Israel’s Supreme Court struck down a law barring judges from reviewing government actions they consider unreasonable. The law, which was part of a broader effort to remake the judicial branch, was championed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and drew mass protests before the nation’s war with Hamas began. The ruling could reignite Israel’s domestic political disagreements. Separately, Israel began moving thousands of troops out of parts of the Gaza Strip, which could signal it expects less intense fighting, especially in northern parts of the territory.

Tensions are rising in the Red Sea. The US Navy sank three boats piloted by Houthi militants in the Red Sea, killing their crews, while responding to a distress call from a Maersk ship on Sunday. And yesterday, Iran sent a warship to the Red Sea. The Houthis, who are based in Yemen but backed by Iran, began attacking commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea in November in response to the Israel–Hamas war. Several major shipping groups started taking longer routes around Africa to avoid the area, through which ~12% of global commerce usually flows, but the US has vowed to secure the trade route.

ICYMI…If, like us, you tuned out the news last week while scrambling to buy last-minute gifts, here are some developments you might have missed: 1) The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft, alleging ChatGPT caused billions of dollars in damages by breaching its copyrights. The suit claims the chatbot has reproduced NYT articles nearly verbatim without permission. 2) In other AI legal news, Donald Trump’s former lawyer Michael Cohen admitted he unwittingly sent his own attorney fake cases invented by Google’s Bard chatbot to submit to the court in an effort to end his post-prison supervision. 3) Apple can still sell its latest Apple Watches in the US despite a trade court ruling that they infringe on another company’s patent because an appeals court put that ruling on hold—for now.

Last week, a previously inconceivable icon emerged from the middle of an Orlando football field—a Pop-Tarts mascot was ceremonially lowered into a giant toaster holding a sign that read “Dreams really do come true.” The toaster then produced an edible replica of the mascot for the winning team to eat.

The viral moment took place at the first-ever Pop-Tarts Bowl college football game, and Pop-Tarts considered it a touchdown: Its director of brand marketing said it rivaled “a major Super Bowl moment” in terms of impact. Despite occurring at an inconsequential college bowl game, the marketing stunt took over X and actually made people want Pop-Tarts.

According to Apex Marketing Group, the Pop-Tarts campaign generated an estimated $12.1 million worth of media exposure for the company that makes Pop-Tarts, Kellanova, which reportedly paid just $2 million to sponsor the game.

Zoom out: With 42 college bowl games between December 16 and January 8, sponsors are becoming increasingly creative to stand out. Kellanova, fresh off its Pop-Tarts success, sponsored the Cheez-It Bowl yesterday and generated buzz with a sideline hot tub and a mischievous (but non-edible) mascot.—CC

Usually, we start the week off with a preview, but since it’s a new year, we went even bigger. Here’s what’s going to be different in 2024…

New year, new laws: The law books are getting thicker. Here are some new rules kicking in this year, according to the New York Times:

• Guns will no longer be allowed in most public spaces in California, including libraries and sports venues.
• DEI programs are officially banned at public universities in Texas.
• Online dating services in Connecticut will have to warn users about romance scams and allow them to report unwanted behavior.
• The so-called “Seinfeld law” in New Jersey will address Jerry’s annoyance with telemarketers by mandating that they introduce themselves, their company, and their product within the first 30 seconds of a call.

Government EV subsidies right at the dealership: Uncle Sam is now letting you snag an up to $7,500 discount on the day you buy an electric car instead of making you wait to claim it on your tax return. However, several vehicles, including Tesla Model 3s with Chinese-made batteries and the Ford Mustang Mach-E, are no longer eligible for the tax break due to tighter sourcing requirements for battery components.

Minimum wage goes up in 25 states: Twenty-two states increased theirs yesterday. The lowest wage allowed in Montana is now $10.30, and it’s $16 in New York, California, and Washington. Workers in Florida, Nevada, Oregon, and DC will get a pay bump later in the year. Meanwhile, the federal minimum wage hasn’t budged from $7.25 since 2009, and it’s still the baseline pay in 20 states.

Everything else…

• America will choose its next president in November: This election season will be extra spicy as the GOP’s front-runner, Donald Trump, will also be making court appearances for his multiple criminal trials. And around the globe, 50 countries will be holding national elections.
• If you notice the sun suddenly disappearing from the sky on April 8, don’t panic — it’s just a total solar eclipse (be sure to wear protective eye gear when marveling at it).
• Paris will host the Summer Olympics for the first time in exactly a century with plans for a tradition-shattering opening ceremony on the River Seine.
• Watch out for a parade of big-screen sequels, including ones for Joker and Dune. The Amy Winehouse biopic, Back to Black, and a tеrrifyingly topical A24 film about a civil war in modern-day America starring Kirsten Dunst will also hit theaters.

Stat: While beer is considered as quintessentially American as other German imports like hamburgers and frankfurters, 2023 was a rough year for brewskis in the US. Consumption levels fell to their lowest in years, as fewer than 200 million barrels were estimated to have been shipped for the first time since 1999, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights. And it wasn’t just the Bud Light boycott taking a bite out of sales, experts told NBC, as beer now has to compete with new sugary alcoholic drinks being marketed to the same drinkers (we see you, Dunkin’ Spiked Coffee).

Quote: “I predict that human judges will be around for a while.”

Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court John Roberts believes that AI will someday transform how the courts conduct their business…but not just yet. In his year-end report, the justice said he thinks AI will change how judges do their jobs but that the machines aren’t coming for their robes anytime soon. Roberts noted that in a trial, “much can turn on a shaking hand, a quivering voice, a change of inflection, a bead of sweat, a moment’s hesitation, a fleeting break in eye contact,” and that most people trust a person rather than AI to interpret those signs.

Read: How did polyamory become so popular? (The New Yorker)

Get going: The best places to travel in 2024.

Or stay in: How to say no to social invitations.

Eat with retro vibes: Where to find every Pizza Hut “Classic” location.

Check the data: 10 surprising data points and documents from last year.

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