MCKEY is an attempt at spontaneous community formation through collective ownership over one of the most recognizable characters, Mickey Mouse. On January 1st, Steamboat Willie, the first rendition of Mickey Mouse will enter the public domain and a new entrant of artists, creators, and inventors will be given the free reign over our beloved rodent.

Ever since Mickey first appeared as a steamboat pilot a year before the Great Depression, the length of creative copyright has been extended again and again. U.S. copyright laws lasted only 14 years. But through some bullshit legislative wizardry, it was stretched to 95 years.

‍Year after year, a coalition of media companies uses its endless financial leverage to lobby Congress, preventing society’s beloved stories from entering the public domain. In the spotlight, of course, we have Disney - the puppet master behind the ironically named "Mickey Mouse Protection Act" of 1998. That’s why some of our favorite characters have been imprisoned for so long.

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Luckily at the start of each year on January 1st, a new crop of works (books, music, paintings, poems, films, and photographs) enter the public domain, freeing them for use and adaptation.

With the advent of Solana within the blockchain space, there now exists a high throughput parallelized environment for consumers, creators, and innovators to etch their work onto an immutable globally available state.

MCKEY arriving on Solana paves the way for a new collective to form. One that imbues culture and ideas from the past and aligns it with a new mimetic framework to spread MCKEY and proliferate the utility and usage of Solana.

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So, what's our north star?

Our goal is to explore MCKEY through the lens of the modern internet and crypto culture. We see a massive opportunity in the emerging world of the public domain, open source code, internet culture and hip hop that can be signified through the emblem of our beloved mouse.

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MCKEY represents more than just a brand; it embodies a transformative movement. Our mission transcends merely making a statement - we're actively reshaping the definition of culture for today's world. Our approach blends a generous dose of humor with a touch of irreverence and a substantial portion of bold creativity. All of this is powered by Solana, the most powerful blockchain accessible to everyone.