Eventually copyright will become so draconian and disconnected from reality (not that it already hasn’t, mind you), that we’re all just going to completely ignore it. There is no legitimate reason for a copyright that extends beyond 30 years. Screw Disney and the rat.
Back in the 1920s, Walt Disney used to work for Paul Terry of Terrytoons fame (most famous for Mighty Mouse).
While working for Paul Terry, Walt Disney created Oswald The Rabbit. A successful cartoon character with marketing tie-ins.
He did not own his creation, he said “screw this”, and quit the company to found his own.
There Ub Iwerks created a character called Mickey Mouse which Walt Disney owned and exploited.
Somehow we have to keep extending the copyright expirations so that Mickey Mouse never goes public domain.