Popeye, Tintin to enter public domain in '25

POPEYE CAN PUNCH without permission and Tintin can roam freely starting in 2025. The two classic comic characters, who first appeared in 1929, are among the intellectual properties becoming public domain in the United States on January 1.

- ANDREW DALTONAP

That means they can be used and repurposed without permission or payment to copyright holders. This year's crop of newly public artistic creations lacks the landmark vibes of last year's entrance into the public domain of Mickey Mouse. But they include a deep well of canonical works whose 95-year copyright maximums will expire. And the Disney icon's public domain presence expands.

"It's a trove! There are a dozen new Mickey cartoons -- he speaks for the first time and dons the familiar white gloves," said Jennifer Jenkins, director of Duke's Center for the Study of the Public Domain.