PBS News: 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.
4 comments:
The public domain is an ingenious creation that can allow art to take on a whole nother life after their creators have passed. Whenever I learn about different pieces of history entering into the public domain I start to realize just how old and intertwined different pieces of media are. This article focuses on Betty Boop, a signature character's entrance to the public domain but they also mention other influential works such as Nancy Drew, the movie All Quiet on the Western Front, and the song Dream a Little Dream of Me. I can remember reading the Nancy Drew books as a young girl and aspiring to be like her when I grew older. Allowing these previously protected art to be reused in new media can allow them to not be forgotten. With the constant and fast-paced environment of modern media it is easy to leave behind old favorites but the public domain allows for creative reinvention.
Learning about what enters the public domain this year was more interesting than I expected. Betty Boop becoming available stood out to me the most, partly because I’ve never been a big fan of her. Something about her design feels a little unsettling to me, but it was still surprising to realize how early versions of her were created and how different she used to look. Even if I personally find her a bit scary, it is cool to see how characters like her can gain a whole new life once they enter the public domain. The idea that artists can reinterpret these older works without restrictions feels exciting, especially when it comes to stories and characters that have been around for decades. At the same time, I kind of feel like some of these iconic figures should stay preserved in museums or archives, but I still appreciate how the public domain keeps them from being forgotten.
I think that when characters like these enter the public domain it can bring about a spark of interest in them as well as giving new artists and creatives the opportunity to learn more about classic IP through using them in projects. Nancy Drew is one of my favorite characters and I hope to see her used in more projects in the future. The books may be great, so are the graphic novels, but my favorite Nancy Drew media is the old CD-ROM puzzle games. There is something empowering in being able to solve puzzles as a clever redhead detective. There is also a supernatural mystery focused Nancy Drew CW show starring Kennedy McMann (A CMU alum). I highly recommend checking it out. I think it’s also significant that Nancy Drew will now be joining the Hard Boys in the public domain, while there were a few official crossovers I look forward to the prospect of more.
This article brought up and reminded me of the times when Mickey was first made into public domain. I can’t remember if it was Mickey himself or Steamboat Willie because there was a lot of back and forth about it. I think it was Steamboat Willie. At the end of the day, it reminded me of how big that whole event became. People started making horror parodies and messing with the IP in a ton of absurd ways. It was definitely very interesting to see how the internet and overall people took the IP and really recontextualized it and created so much with it and how it was done. I vividly remember cackling at some of the absurd horror made with the IP once it was made public domain. I can for sure see this happening again as this IP is also made public domain. I don’t think the tomfoolery will be a severe as it was with Steamboat Willie, but it will once again be interesting to see.
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