#480 - What You Can Do With Mickey Mouse

·49 min·4 clips

Sword and Laser built a machine that spies on what you read every hour—pledge support to it now.

The episode opens with hosts Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt promoting their Patreon and noting Tom's upcoming trip to CES. They share personal updates, including Veronica's recovery from hand, foot, and mouth disease. The first major topic is Amazon's new 'Your Books' feature, which analyzes purchase history for recommendations; Tom reveals his top series is The Walking Dead comics with 170 books. The hosts discuss concerns about Goodreads' stagnation and competition from sites like Hardcover. Next, they explain that Steamboat Willie and Plane Crazy versions of Mickey Mouse entered the public domain in 2024, clarifying copyright versus trademark protections. They mention other works like an Agatha Christie novel and 'House at Pooh Corner' also entering the public domain. The conversation shifts to a copyright lawsuit where fan fiction author Demetrius Polychron lost against Amazon and the Tolkien estate, requiring him to destroy his book and pay $134,000. The hosts briefly touch on true crime podcasts, with Veronica expressing ethical reservations. Listener feedback includes discussions on Murderbot casting, comparisons of book characters to band members, and a nostalgic clip of Veronica mentioning Alexander Skarsgård years ago. They review their 2023 five-star book ratings, with titles like 'System Collapse' and 'Legends & Lattes'. The episode concludes with an introduction to the book club pick 'The Shining Girls' by Lauren Beukes, noting its horror elements and time-travel mechanics.

As heard by us

A lively copyright chat that follows Mickey Mouse through public domain and trademark questions.

The episode moves quickly through the public-domain overlap between Mickey Mouse, Steamboat Willie, and trademark, and it does so with enough clarity to keep each turn feeling useful.

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Why you'd press play

For a brisk tour of Steamboat Willie entering the public domain, Disney's trademark boundary, and a Tolkien lawsuit update.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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