GamesPopeye and Tintin have entered the public domain, so I’ll just go ahead and start the countdown clock for our first Sailor Man soulslikeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesPopeye and Tintin have entered the public domain, so I’ll just go ahead and start the countdown clock for our first Sailor Man soulslikeWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: LMPC via Getty Images)
It’s a new year, and that means a new crop of iconic characters—some more than others—entering the public domain. According to Title 17 of the United States Code, once 95 years have passed since the creation of any “anonymous work, pseudonymous work, or work made for hire,” that work belongs to everyone. There’s something beautiful about it: These are the people’s works now, to be redistributed and rewoven into new art without the strictures of copyright.
It’s the closest thing we have to a utopian ideal in copyright law—an ideal that, if you ask me, is worth honoring. And what greater honor could there be than putting Popeye the Sailor in a bunch of videogames he probably shouldn’t be in?
We’re closer than ever to finding out what it would be like to recruit Tintin in a party-based RPG or be the designated Popeye main in your hero shooter of choice—assuming there are game developers willing to make some questionable choices with their creative direction.
Nothing in intellectual property law is without its caveats, however. Only the earliest portrayals of Popeye and Tintin are now public domain works; any design changes and characteristics that emerged after 1929 are still under copyright protection. We watched a similar situation play out last year when the copyright expired for Steamboat Willie, Mickey Mouse’s first appearance. While Disney’s rodent-in-chief has since been remixed intostreamer-fodder horror gamesandtop-down shoot-‘em-ups, you’ll notice that those reinterpretations have been careful to stick to Mickey’s original aesthetic.
Popeye’s hallmark spinach habits, for example, weren’t establisheduntil 1931. If youwerecompelled to make your own Popeye reboot, any spinach-based super strength powerups could, theoretically, run the risk of landing you in legal hot water. (However, there’s a chance that Popeye’s spinach-strength has already been in the public domain for decades thanks to aneglected copyright renewal, as the Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain directors Jennifer Jenkins and James Boyle have discovered. Copyright is hard.)
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Does that mean developers should be leery about any uses of the ur-Popeye texts? Probably not. As Jenkins and Boyle explain, trademark’s protections are meant to prevent brand confusion. Any Popeye media you might want to make should be safe, Jenkins and Boyle say, “so long as people do not think Hearst is producing or sponsoring your work.”
Popeye’s terrifying forearms are, as far as United States copyright laws are concerned, yours to do with as you will. A Sailor Man soulslike, perhaps. It worked for Pinocchio inLies of P.
Personally, I’m more excited about Dashiell Hammett’sRed Harvesthitting public domain. Surely someone will announce a Disco Elysium-like featuring the Continental Op any day now.
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The Last of Us season 2 trailer is a brief look at a story you should probably just play yourself in April
Lords of the Fallen publisher embraces fear of the DEI boogeyman, says it will not include ‘any social or political agendas’ in its games
Epic CEO Tim Sweeney says tech leaders are ‘pretending to be Republicans’ to gain favor with Trump, skirt antitrust laws, and ultimately ‘rip off consumers and crush competitors’
If you’re trying to convince me your ‘companionship’ robot is ‘lifelike’, maybe don’t rip her face off in the demo video
Square Enix launches new anti-harassment policy to protect its employees and partners from abusive fans
The Sims begins its 25th anniversary celebration next week with a Behind The Sims episode of news and announcements
Path of Exile 2 numberlord spends 16 straight days killing rare monsters to prove that a stat that makes loot better makes better loot
Palestinian developer raises more than $200,000 to make Dreams on a Pillow, a game about the horrors of the 1948 Nakba
Piranha Games will lay off employees after Mechwarrior 5: Clans ‘performed below projections’
Marvel Rivals’ latest update quietly killed the game’s burgeoning mod scene
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