Yes—in the United States, the initial 1929 versions of Popeye and Tintin entered the public domain on January 1, 2025. That does not make every later comic, film, television appearance, translation, or familiar design free to use, and it does not establish that either character is public domain in other countries.
What entered the U.S. public domain on January 1, 2025?
Duke University’s Center for the Study of the Public Domain identifies the initial versions of both characters as works entering the U.S. public domain in 2025. The date follows the U.S. Copyright Office’s current guidance that works published in the United States before January 1, 1931 are now in the public domain because their copyright terms have expired: What Is Copyright? and Duke’s Public Domain Day 2025 guide.
Popeye’s 1929 appearance
E.C. Segar introduced Popeye in the 1929 newspaper strip Thimble Theater. The relevant public-domain material is what appeared in that initial work—not everything the character became in later strips or screen adaptations. The Associated Press notes, for example, that Popeye’s spinach-powered strength came later, as did animated shorts beginning in 1933: Associated Press, December 16, 2024.
Tintin’s 1929 appearance
Tintin first appeared in 1929 in the story known in English as The Adventures of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. The 2025 milestone concerns the initial version under U.S. copyright law; it is not a declaration that Tintin is free to use worldwide.
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What can someone make or publish from the original works?
In the United States, creators may use material as it appears in the public-domain versions without seeking copyright permission or paying a copyright fee for that material. They can make new works based on those elements, but they should work from the original 1929 material rather than assume that a modern image or adaptation is interchangeable with it.
Duke’s guide explains the distinction for characters that continue into protected works: later copyright can cover newly added material, while material already present in the public-domain work remains available. The practical boundary is therefore version-specific: a character’s original depiction may be usable while distinctive additions from later works remain protected.
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Keep later additions separate
- Popeye: Do not assume that later traits such as spinach-powered strength, or imagery from the animated shorts that began in 1933, belong to the 1929 public-domain material.
- Tintin: Do not treat later stories, illustrations, or adaptations as cleared merely because the first story entered the U.S. public domain.
- Reprints and adaptations: A modern edition may combine the original work with later material or presentation choices. Check the actual content you plan to reproduce.
Why does the country matter?
Copyright terms differ by jurisdiction. The Associated Press reported in 2024 that Tintin remains protected in much of the world until 70 years after Hergé’s death in 1983. That is a broad summary, not a country-by-country legal ruling. Before distributing, selling, or licensing a work outside the United States, check the law that applies in each destination.
The U.S. Copyright Office also cautions that duration depends on when a work was created. Its general life-plus-70-year term applies to works created on or after January 1, 1978; it should not be substituted for the rules governing these 1929 works.
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Copyright is not the only issue in commercial use
A public-domain copyright status does not automatically settle every branding question. Trademarks and other rights may matter when a product name, packaging, or presentation could confuse consumers about who made or endorsed it. The sources cited here do not determine whether any particular design, title, or commercial use raises such a problem; that depends on the specific use and applicable law.
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A practical check before using either character
- Identify the material. Confirm that the image, story element, or character detail appears in the relevant initial 1929 work, not only in a later comic or adaptation.
- Identify the destination. The January 1, 2025 milestone described here is U.S.-specific. Check the law in other countries where the work will be distributed.
- Review the presentation. If the use is commercial, assess whether branding or consumer-confusion concerns arise separately from copyright.
- Keep your source edition in view. A modern reprint may contain additions or presentation elements beyond the original material, so do not treat the entire edition as cleared on the same basis.
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