"Betty Boop and Blondie are joining Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh in the public domain. The first appearances of the classic cartoon and comic characters are among the pieces of intellectual property whose 95-year U.S. copyright maximum has been reached, putting them in the public domain on Jan. 1. That means creators can use and repurpose them without permission or payment."
"It's a big year, said Jennifer Jenkins, law professor and director of Duke's Center for the Study of the Public Domain, for whom New Year's Day is celebrated as Public Domain Day. It's just the sheer familiarity of all this culture. Jenkins said that, collectively, this year's work shows the fragility that was between the two wars and the depths of the Great Depression."
The first appearances of characters including Betty Boop and Blondie will enter the U.S. public domain on Jan. 1 after reaching the 95-year copyright limit. Creators can use and repurpose those versions without permission or payment. The 2026 cohort follows earlier entries such as Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh and continues an annual stream of newly public works since 2019 ended a 20-year copyright drought. Many works originate from the interwar period and the Great Depression, reflecting cultural fragility. Betty Boop's debut in the 1930 short Dizzy Dishes shows an early canine design that evolved into the Jazz Age flapper image.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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