Indiantelevision.com's Kidology: Popeye enters public domain in Europe
Indiantelevision.com's Kidology
Popeye
enters public domain in Europe
Indiantelevision.com
Team
(3
January 2009 8:30 pm)
MUMBAI: The copyright on the cartoon character Popeye has expired to thrust it
into the public domain in Europe. According to the Europe copyright law, an author's
rights lay protected only until 70 years after his/her death.
Elzie
Segar, creator of this spinach-munching character, died at the
age of 43 in 1938.
Also,
Britain’s copyright law is such that now anyone can sell merchandise like
posters and T-shirts using Segar’s Popeye artwork, and even create new Popeye
comics and TV series, without permission and without having to pay any sort of
royalty.
In
the US, however, Popeye will remain copyrighted until 2024 as US protects rights
for 95 years after the author's death.
