These Classic Characters Will Soon Enter the Public Domain
The copyright for Steamboat Willie’s Mickey Mouse expired on January 1 this year and is now in the public domain. This means creators can use him in their works without the likelihood of being sued.
According to Lifestyle Asia Singapore, one game company will use this Mickey Mouse as a character in their game. Animators and artists can use this version for their cartoons, artwork, and comics. Creators can even use him as an additional or secondary character in their own works.
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Disney has clarified though that this does not apply to the later versions of Mickey Mouse. Versions of Mickey that appeared in 1935’s The Band Concert, 1940’s Fantasia and afterwards are still owned by Disney.
As you guessed, this applies not only to Mickey. Many other classic characters are going to enter the public domain in the coming years. And, like Mickey, they have gone through several versions. For example, J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan from the original books also entered the public domain this year. Disney’s version of Peter Pan, having appeared in the 1953 movie, remains under copyright. The original Winnie the Pooh, who was created by writer A.A. Milne and illustrator E.H. Shepard, went into the public domain in 2022. This is why a horror movie, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, came out in 2023. The character Tigger from the same original story also gained public domain status this year.
And there are more. Here is a list of some popular characters and the year they will be entering the public domain, along with some relevant information about them:
- Popeye the Sailor Man (2025) - First appeared in a comic strip in 1929 by E.C. Segar
- Pluto (2026) - First appeared in the 1930 animated short film The Chain Gang
- Universal's Frankenstein and Dracula (2027) - These are the eponymous movies featuring Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi respectively as the said characters, whose portrayals depart from the books
- Imhotep in Universal’s The Mummy (2028) - Imhotep is played by Boris Karloff, who often took movie monster roles
- Conan The Barbarian (2028) - Created by writer Robert E. Howard, who published the first Conan story “The Phoenix on the Sword” in Weird Tales magazine in 1932
- King Kong (2029) - First appeared in the 1933 movie by RKO Pictures, although the character’s ownership history is one of the most confusing. Merian C. Cooper is credited as the creator
- Donald Duck (2030) - First appeared in the 1934 animated short The Wise Little Hen
- Flash Gordon (2030) - First appeared in the 1934 comic strip of the same name by Alex Raymond
- Daffy Duck (2033) - First appeared in the 1937 animated Looney Tunes short Porky’s Duck Hunt
- Superman (2034) - This is the original Superman from Action Comics #1 in 1939 who lacked the power of flight. The Superman in movies who could fly is considered another version that is still under Warner Bros.
- The characters from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (2033) - The Hobbit was published in 1937
Of course, it is still possible for the owning companies or entities to renew copyrights on certain characters should they desire. They are more likely, though, to retain copyright on the later, more polished versions of characters, as these are the versions often used today.
The US Copyright office says that works created after January 1, 1978 will have 75 years of protection. Anonymous works, works using pseudonyms, or made-for-hire works will enjoy a copyright term of 95 years from the year of first publication or 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first. Those published before 1978 will have specific terms that are mentioned in Chapter 3 of US copyright law.
Once an intellectual property is in the public domain, no one can purchase and possess it anymore.
