Popeye and Ddaengddaeng, Copyright Expires on the 1st of Next Month
The copyrights for cartoon characters Popeye and Tintin, who debuted in 1929, will soon expire.
On the 27th, Yonhap News quoted the American internet media Axios, reporting that the copyrights for Popeye and Tintin, who debuted in the same year, will expire on January 1st next year.
With the expiration of the copyrights, anyone will be free to use the versions of Popeye and Tintin released in 1929. Axios reported that in line with the expiration of Popeye's copyright, there are already three film companies producing horror movies featuring Popeye. A horror movie featuring Mickey Mouse, whose copyright expired on January 1st this year, was also released the very next day.
Popeye was created by American cartoonist E.C. Segar and first appeared in the 1929 comic "Thimble Theatre," gaining popularity. Four years later, in 1933, it was also made into a theatrical animated film. Popeye was initially introduced through a newspaper comic by Elzie Crisler Segar, and his display of superhuman strength to save his girlfriend Olive became very popular. However, like Mickey Mouse, only the early 1929 version is public domain; the characteristic traits such as gaining strength from eating spinach or his unique mumbling speech remain protected.
Dotted character painted on the exterior of a Belgian airline passenger plane. Photo by EPA Yonhap News
Tintin is the protagonist of "The Adventures of Tintin," created by Belgian cartoonist Herg?. This comic series is a global bestseller, having sold over 300 million copies in about 50 languages across more than 60 countries. "The Adventures of Tintin" follows the curious, adventurous, and witty young reporter Tintin as he travels the world encountering and solving various incidents. In 2019, an original early cover from the Belgian series "The Adventures of Tintin" was sold at an auction in the United States for nearly 1 million euros (about 1.33 billion KRW).
The expiration of the copyrights for these two characters is based on U.S. copyright law, which sets the copyright protection period for works owned by corporations, like Popeye, to the shorter of 95 years after publication or 120 years after creation.
Other works debuting in 1929 whose copyrights will expire include famous novels and music. Ernest Hemingway's novel "A Farewell to Arms" and Virginia Woolf's essay "A Room of One's Own" will also enter the public domain, allowing anyone to publish them.
Among music, the copyrights for George Gershwin's symphonic poem "An American in Paris" and lyricist Arthur Freed's pop classic "Singin' in the Rain" will also be released.
The copyright protection period for Alfred Hitchcock's first sound film "Blackmail" will also end.
For music, novels, and other works owned by individuals, copyrights are protected for 70 years after the creator's death; however, for songs or novels published before 1978, the maximum copyright protection period is 95 years.
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