What Will Happen When Superman Falls into the Public Domain?
Public domain laws allow a character, work or artistic production to no longer be associated with a single brand and can be used by anyone. However, there are a series of rules for this to happen. According to North American law, any work that was created before 1978 has 95 years until it enters the public domain – and this could put Warner and DC Comics' sovereignty in relation to their greatest heroes at risk.
To make everything clear, Superman was created in 1938. Batman appeared in 1939, and in 1941 we saw the introduction story of Wonder Woman. As the current law says that the public domain becomes effective on January 1st of the year after the work turns 95 years old, we know that DC Comics will lose the exclusive rights to the Trinity in cinema, comics and other media in 2034, 2035 and 2037 , respectively.
With this, other studios, producers and even fans will be able to use the characters indiscriminately, in a similar way to what already happens with so many other works such as, for example, Jules Verne's books, H. P. Lovecraft's creations and even works such as Winnie the Pooh – which even got a recent horror film thanks to its entry into the public domain.
So what exactly could happen to DC Comics heroes?
So far, the subject is an unknown, as not even DC Comics itself knows how to deal with issues in the public domain of its most famous characters. According to lawyers interviewed by Business Insider who specialize in copyright law, what could happen is that the publisher determines that the 1938 Superman is not the same as the one we know today.
In his early comics, Clark Kent didn't fly. Instead, he just jumped really high, and the notion of flight didn't come until a long time later. For this reason, it is likely that, when it enters the public domain, any figure portraying Superman will not be able to use elements later incorporated into the hero's mythology. This way, he won't be able to not have his underwear over his pants or even his red and yellow symbol, like in the current comics.
But for now, everything depends on whether or not another very popular character enters the public domain.
Released in 1928, Steamboat Willie was an animated short film created by Walt Disney that introduced Mickey Mouse to the world. According to current laws, the short will enter the public domain in 2024 and, therefore, Mickey will no longer be an exclusive Disney figure.
For a few years now, the studio has been using its economic strength to lobby in favor of changing the public domain law, so that its most famous character cannot be used by studios and artists other than Disney itself.
However, this move by the company has caused great controversy in the United States. According to an article in The Los Angeles Times dated May 2022, some Republican lawmakers have been trying, left and right, to prevent Disney from changing the laws or even achieving an expansion of copyright protection.
The whole issue is quite complex, since never before in the history of human arts, has there been a character or work that lasted more than 95 years, being so popular and raising so much money for its owners. Because of this, if Mickey truly falls into the public domain, there is enough precedent for heroes like Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman to also no longer be exclusive brands of DC Comics and Warner Bros.
