With a new year comes a new crop of books, films, music, and other works falling into the public domain. For 2025, that includes works that were originally published in 1929.
According to the Duke University School of Law’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain, that list includes a number of iconic characters.
At the top of the list is Popeye, but before you crack open your celebratory can of spinach, it’s important to note the version of the sailor entering the public domain is the version that appeared in the “Thimble Theatre” comic strip, first appearing as a minor character in the strip “Gobs of Work”, published on January 17, 1929.
While this version of the character does have superhuman capabilities, key details such as him deriving strength from spinach weren’t introduced into the comics until 1932. Furthermore, trademarks regarding Popeye still belong to Hearst Holdings, Inc. Unlike copyright, trademarks only expire when they cease being used.
Another character in a similar copyright quagmire is the intrepid reporter Tintin, who first made his appearance in 1929 with “Tintin in the Land of the Soviets,” created for the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle by George Prosper Remi, under the pen name Hergé.
Like ‘Popeye,’ it is only the initial version of the character that appears in the series of newspaper comic strips, which comprise the first volume of “The Adventures of Tintin.” That means that other beloved characters, such as his best friend Captain Haddock and the bumbling detectives Thomson and Thompson, remain under copyright.
One character that does not have nearly as many snags is the classic sci-fi hero, Buck Rogers, as the first comic strip, “Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D.” was first published in January 7, 1929.
However, he had technically already been in the public domain for a number of decades, as the copyright protection for the strip had lapsed before copyright protections were extended under the 1976 Copyright Act. Furthermore, the original version of the character, first introduced in 1928 in the novella “Armageddon 2419” as Anthony Rogers, had already fallen into the public domain as well.
Well blow me down.
Some of them are falling into public domain, but only in the US.
Edit: iirc, in the EU Tintin will still be copyrighted beyond 2050.
Indeed. Article in French about it, with the different dates: https://www.rtbf.be/article/tintin-dans-le-domaine-public-aux-etats-unis-en-2025-vraiment-11483316
Yeah, it’s different in different areas. Australia, I believe, have a much shorter copyright window so a lot of things are already free to use there.
Ascended.
It’s worth acknowledging that this is all deeply stupid.
Copyright exists to promote new works. A decade or two was plenty. This century-long restraint, expiring only when everyone who made or bought a work is stone dead, is an intolerable leash on culture.
Art belongs to its audience. The artist is only entitled to any money involved and an accurate reputation. If you do not want people to have something - don’t sell it to them.
To see how the public feels about copyright - characters appear in pornography the moment they appear onscreen. And frankly that should be protected, at least insofar as it doesn’t compete directly. Overwatch sales have surely not been harmed.
