January 1st will now be more than New Years Day; the date has become Public Domain Day.

If you're a writer, artist or copyright lawyer, you're familiar with the rule that "all works published before 1923 are generally in the public domain."

At 12:00 am on January 1, 2019, published works from the year 1923 will finally enter the public domain. That's a full 21 years -- a generation -- after 1922 works became public domain in 1998. Think about how much has changed since 1998. With the coming of Google and the Digital Age, the release of books, photographs, films, music and other works created in 1923 is "unprecedented."

And Mickey Mouse contributed to the two-decade delay. Read more here.