The Truth About Mickey Mouse in The Public Domain, How Lego Approves New Sets, and Why Cities Are Ditching Parking

It feels a bit like a week where I should do something significant. Maybe it does for you too. Resolutions, launches, promises … it’s all about starting the new year right. Or it seems to be. So, this week I’m going to try and resist that temptation and do something a little different.

My “resolution” today isn’t to shape a new habit or make a big pivot. Instead, I want to remember to keep doing the things that are working and that bring me joy. Things like writing this email and connecting with you.

I suppose that’s my humble reminder for all of you too in this first newsletter of the year. As you start 2024, don’t let the messages telling you about all the things you need to change distract you from what you might want to keep. This week more than any other is one where you’ll have to try a bit harder to remember what people love about you, and what you love about yourself.  

Stay curious,

Previewing the World’s Biggest Tech Trade Show: CES 2024 

Coming back to work this week, my inbox was filled with pitches about products, technologies, and innovations that will be launching at CES next week. I was honored to be invited as an Innovation Award Judge this year and I’ll be there covering the show and working on my usual recap of the most non-obvious stories I find there.

Already some of the early reports from the show are focusing on AI, generational shifts and accessibility. I am also joining a panel along with my son to talk about Gen Z media habits and how the younger generation is shifting expectations for tech and media. If you are coming to Vegas or working on a product or innovation that might be a good option for my coverage – let me know, I’d love to catch up!

Mickey Mouse Enters the Public Domain … Here’s What It Means

The first big meme of the year is Mickey Mouse finally entering the public domain, which means creators can use the iconic Disney character to create their own projects. Or does it? As this video explains, there is a difference between a character that is copyrighted and one that has a trademark.

Not to mention there is a difference between the original Steamboat Willie cartoon that inspired Mickey Mouse (which is public domain) and all the stories featuring Mickey Mouse or the movies or anything that came after (which is still protected).

This hasn’t stopped creators from releasing a Steamboat Willie themed horror film, which is probably ok since it centers on the character version that is public and doesn’t reference Mickey Mouse at all. While this might fly, legal experts are already exploring what this means for copyright protection and predicting the Disney’s lawyers will be busy in the first half of this year trying to protect the parts of Mickey Mouse they still own. 

Everything You Always Wondered About How LEGO Designs Actually Get Approved and Made

It took Marc Corfmat many failing yet popular designs before he finally found one that Lego agreed to mass produce. As a Lego enthusiast, he and his brother had been submitting multiple concept sets through The Lego Ideas Program for years. Many of them reached the minimum required 10,000 upvotes to be considered by Lego, but were never made. Until their nostalgic design for a 70s era Polaroid camera.

A fascinating article from The Verge details what happened next and answers many questions I have long wondered about how Lego sets actually get made. From the innovative method the company uses to force their designers to minimize custom pieces by a sort of internal ranking system to the extensive testing that even baked sets in an oven to simulate them sitting outside in the sun in hot climates, the process is exactly as difficult and methodical as you might expect. 

A Rare Roundup of African Startups and Countries to Watch in 2024

In the process of curating this newsletter every week, I read a lot of stories about startups and innovation. Hardly any feature case studies from the continent of Africa. The fact that African innovation is widely ignored probably isn’t much of a surprise to anyone who comes from that ecosystem … but it’s a fact that we all need to try and help change in this new year.

To that end, this week I want to share an article from one of my favorite African tech sources: TechSafari written by Caleb Maru. In his latest review of 4 African countries we’re watching in 2024, he spotlights top startups from the “big four” of Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Egypt. The article also shares the next wave of potential success stories coming from Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and Zambia. Check out the full article and read about many startups like Jetstream, Chari, mPharma and Lengo AI along with many others you might not be familiar with yet, but probably should be. 

Will 2024 Be the Year Cities Finally Ditch Parking Minimums?

What if the one of the biggest reasons for poverty and homelessness in cities wasn’t a lack of money or ballooning health care costs, but rather the longstanding real estate mandate for ample parking spaces? One of the most eye-opening books I considered for our book awards program this year was Paved Paradise, which suggested that unnecessarily high zoning requirements for parking were the single biggest factor preventing more affordable housing.

This week an NPR article suggested that perhaps this year might finally be the one where more cities rethink this prioritization of parking at the expense of more livable and equitable communities. Austin just became the biggest city in the country to throw out it’s parking minimums, joining San Jose, Anchorage, Gainesville and more than 50 others. It’s a topic that divides people and councils, but one that may be showing signs of finally shifting. 

Even More Non-Obvious Stories …

Every week I always curate more stories than I’m able to explore in detail. Instead of skipping those stories, I started to share them in this section so you can skim the headlines and click on any that spark your interest:

How are these stories curated?

Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Looking for a speaker to inspire your team to become non-obvious thinkers through a keynote or workshop?  Watch my new 2023 speaking reel on YouTube >>

This Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter is curated by Rohit Bhargava.

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