'Cause I Eats My Spinach...

As from today, Popeye the Sailor enters the public domain. His creator, Elzie Crisler Segar, born December 8, 1894, died October 13, 1938 (aged 43). According to European Union legislation the 70 year ruling on copyright now comes into force. In honour of the man who is rarely mentioned as the creator of Popeye in the Thimble Theatre Cartoon Strip, I attach a hand tracing of an endearing image of one of the greatest cartoon characters.
I will sit back and wait for someone to tell me that I'm still not entitled to post this image.
Happy New year,
Bob.

He am what he am, he Popeye the Sailor Man.

Nice job, Bob! Happy New Year to you, too!

be careful with posting the original Bob - that may not be out of copyright - it does not follow that an instance of the character's use is out of copyright just because the character is...

you should be ok with your excellent interpretation though - just so long as you don't go infringing King Features, or whoever it is actually owns the original,'s rights ;)

Thanks for that, Steve. I've taken the original down just in case.
Saludos,
Bob.

Happy New Year Bob.

I like Popeye.

A friend of mine LOVES Popeye and has a tremendous collection of anything Popeye-ish.

I emailed him your post and here is what he replied:

Yes this is true, but only in Europe apparently. In the states, the public domain thing doesn't kick in for 95 years which would be 2024. It's hard to believe King Features Syndicate hasn't found a way of protecting it's product - they've been extremely litigious in the past. Whoever (whomever?) posted this, mentioned E.C.Segar, but posted a Popeye comic book cover drawn by Bud Sagendorf. Bud took over for Segar after he died of leukemia in 1938.

Sagendorf s**ked. The character wasn't his to change.

Fine drawing showing a cartoon character of the old school, before Manga.

correct about the US angle - the 70 year is EU law

use of the Popeye character in new work in the EU is fine - with the exception of using it in connection with spinach as this is a trade mark issue apparently. That may well have to be tested in court if it occurs since this is the first time this kind of character copyright has lapsed [my sources tell me]

plenty of non-manga stuff around still, but a lot of it [like manga] not necessarily in English :D

i love the old popeye clips from the 30s and 40s and watch them often with the kids.

collected lots in bad quality from the net - is there a source with high quality now that it's public domain?

bb,

FLy

FLy, I think you are referring to the Max Fleischer cartoons, I also have lots of them, but I haven't seen any with better than average quality. Mostly black and white, but a few in colour. Betty Boop ones, too, which were the forerunner of the modern music video. I have a great one featuring Cab Calloway doing "Minnie The Moocher" which is a must have. I think there is software available to capture streaming You Tube videos, which can then be converted to dvd, but don't tell anyone I told you.:).
As for copyright, I imagine that the cartoons will be subject to different ownership than the drawings.
Saludos,
Bob.

yes - max fleischer - of course we love betty boop too :)

especially my 4 year old daughter nike.

the cab calloway clip is very cool. there's a nice one with louis armstrong too.

you can get some betty and popeye at http://www.archive.org/search.php?query=popeye (a pd site for media)

i'll try youtube too - thx

FLy

My Popeye friend told me to tell you this:

He should buy these and only these, completely restored and available for the first time EVER on Warner Home Video. This is the link to Vol 1 1933-1938 but Vols 2 and 3 have also been released covering the entire Max Fleischer black and white Popeye era up to 1943. The color Famous Studio Paramount Popeyes are still being restored but should be released this year.

http://www.amazon.com/Popeye-Sailor-...0827654&sr=8-1

[not sure if providing this link is allowed in TG...]

hi - yes just seen it too - seems to be the best choice - but it's ntsc and some region code that i guess i cannot use here in germany - i don't know about region codes. they don't list it in amazon.de just in uk and us.

shrug - so it's google +rapidshare or just wait for a drm-right release for me.

i'm ready to buy :b

bb,

FLy

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by -=Drifter=-

My Popeye friend told me to tell you this:

He should buy these and only these, completely restored and available for the first time EVER on Warner Home Video. This is the link to Vol 1 1933-1938 but Vols 2 and 3 have also been released covering the entire Max Fleischer black and white Popeye era up to 1943. The color Famous Studio Paramount Popeyes are still being restored but should be released this year.

http://www.amazon.com/Popeye-Sailor-...0827654&sr=8-1

[not sure if providing this link is allowed in TG...]

---

Thanks for the link, Bob. No problem with providing it, I'm sure.
Wish I'd known about this before my wishlist went out for Christmas and Birthday. I'll have to wait until the dollar falls through the floor again.
Saludos,
Bob.

Here is the times online Popeye article: http://entertainment.timesonline.co....cle5415854.ece

From the article:

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.

Mark Owen, an intellectual property specialist at the law firm Harbottle & Lewis, said: “The Segar drawings are out of copyright, so anyone could put those on T-shirts, posters and cards and create a thriving business. If you sold a Popeye toy or Popeye spinach can, you could be infringing the trademark.”

What they are saying is that the original drawings are in public domain - the character of Popeye is not. The character is also a Trademark and as such, it never expires.

Popeye is a yearly 1.5 billion dollar industry... All kinds of things will get contested in court when money of that magnitude is on the line.

Still, businesses tapping in to these old drawings could make a lot of money.

Happy New Year!

Risto

Great job, Bob,
Yer strong to the finish, cause you eats yer spinish.
Happy New Year to you, too!

Larry

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Risto

If you sold a Popeye toy or Popeye spinach can, you could be infringing the trademark.”

Risto

---

Yep - thats what will eventually be tested in court - how far does a trade mark stretch? - I'm betting the EU and the US will have differing views :rolleyes: