Copyright expired in the US: Many well-known characters were released for public use

Numerous new classic works and characters from the works became available for free public use in the United States at the beginning of the year.

Now it’s the turn of, for example, the well-known cartoon and animation characters Kippari-Kalle and Tintti.

Characters will be released when their copyright expires in the US. So in the United States, you can freely make new works from them.

The characters Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse released last year have already been quickly made into cheap horror movies. Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey mixed Mickey’s Mouse Trap have both received an overwhelming reception.

There is already Kippari-Kallesta several horror films are said to be in the works.

Now they are released works that appeared in 1929.

Sound films began to become common around the same time. Among the released works are, for example, Alfred Hitchcock the first sound film Blackmail mixed Marx’s the brothers’ first film The Cocoanuts.

For example, novels are released by William Faulkner The sound and the fury and Ernest Hemingwayn A farewell to arms.

Those released from music pieces include, among others Arthur Friedin Singin’ in the Rain and Maurice Ravelin Bolero. Copyright is released for the sheet music and lyrics of the songs, not for recordings made later.

In the field of visual arts, for example, there are several vacancies Salvador Dalin paintings.

Copyright duration is determined in many different ways. Europe and the United States have different legislation.

In the United States, copyright lasts for 95 years for some works. That’s why works published in 1929 are now being released.

The Tintti character will not be released in Europe until 2054. In the EU, copyright lasts 70 years after the author’s death. Herge died in 1983.

Duke Law School’s Center for the Study of Public Domain has published a list of well-known works that are now out of copyright.

In practice, these works can be performed, published and sold freely in the United States.