It’s official: The Walt Disney Company has lost the copyright protections for the earliest versions of Mickey Mouse’s canine best friend, Pluto. As of January 1, 2026, two animated shorts that introduced film fans to the iconic character have entered the public domain.Disney Loses Pluto CopyrightMost Walt Disney Animation Studios properties from 1930 officially entered the public domain on January 1, including two shorts that featured the first appearances of Pluto. Animators introduced the public to the dog that would eventually become Mickey Mouse’s best friend in two 1930 shorts: The Chain Gang and The Picnic. Credit: Univaded Fox, FlickrThere’s a catch, though. In The Chain Gang (1930), Pluto appears as a nameless black-and-white bloodhound chasing Mickey Mouse. In The Picnic (1930), he’s Minnie Mouse’s dog, “Rover.” Creatives who want to use the earliest versions of the now iconic dog will not be able to refer to him as Pluto–at least not in 2026.Pluto got his name, and his status as Mickey Mouse’s right-hand pup, in Disney’s The Moose Hunt (1931). That short will enter the public domain in January 2027.The Latest in a Never-Ending Series of LossesCredit: DisneyNew Year’s Day 2026 marks the third January in a row that The Walt Disney Company has lost copyright protections for some of its most iconic characters. It all began in 2024, when the black-and-white sailor Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie (1928) entered the public domain.The Walt Disney Company has long been considered one of the strongest advocates for strict copyright laws, lobbying United States politicians to prevent its iconic characters from entering the public domain. In 1998, the Mouse successfully persuaded lawmakers to extend the protections established in the 1976 Copyright Act by 20 years, increasing the copyright term to 95 years in most cases.The 1998 law was sarcastically known as the “Mickey Mouse Protection Act” among its critics. Many media experts felt the extended copyright protection stifled creativity and prevented the public from accessing cultural artifacts.Credit: Walt Disney Animation StudiosThe critics succeeded. Disney failed to convince Congress to extend copyright protections any further, and the tidal wave of early characters began entering the public domain in 2024. Alongside the version of Mickey Mouse from Steamboat Willie, Disney lost copyright to early iterations of Goofy, Minnie Mouse, Winnie the Pooh, and other iconic animated characters.The public took advantage quickly, flooding the internet with X-rated and horrifying versions of the black-and-white sailor Mickey Mouse. The Walt Disney Company vowed to defend the still-protected versions of its characters:“More modern versions of Mickey will remain unaffected by the expiration of the Steamboat Willie copyright, and Mickey will continue to play a leading role as a global ambassador for the Walt Disney Company in our storytelling, theme park attractions, and merchandise. We will, of course, continue to protect our rights in the more modern versions of Mickey Mouse and other works that remain subject to copyright, and we will work to safeguard against consumer confusion caused by unauthorized uses of Mickey and our other iconic characters.”Credit: D23Disney has not issued similar statements about the versions of its characters (including Mickey’s pal Pluto) that entered the public domain in January 2025 and 2026.Which early Walt Disney Animation Studios short is your favorite? Inside the Magic would love to hear from you in the comments!The post It’s Official: Disney Loses Rights to Pluto Character appeared first on Inside the Magic.