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An Interesting Case Study in Intellectual Property Law Is About to Unfold

Popeye the Sailor copyright free 70 years after Elzie Segar's death.

"From January 1, the iconic sailor falls into the public domain in Britain under an EU law that restricts the rights of authors to 70 years after their death. Elzie Segar, the Illinois artist who created Popeye, his love interest Olive Oyl and nemesis Bluto, died in 1938."

"While the copyright is about to expire inside the EU, the character is protected in the US until 2024. US law protects a work for 95 years after its initial copyright.

"The Popeye trademark, a separate entity to Segar's authorial copyright, is owned by King Features, a subsidiary of the Hearst Corporation — the US entertainment giant — which is expected to protect its brand aggressively."

Posted on Monday, December 29, 2008 at 11:29 PM | Comments (1) | Return

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