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DC superhero revolution: what happens when the copyrights expire?

19/1/2024

Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson

Superman and Batman are two of the most famous superheroes in the world. However, their copyrights will expire in the next few years. What does this mean for their future?

Zack Snyder once came up with a pretty wacky story for his DC Extended Universe. Batman impregnating Superman’s girlfriend, Lois Lane. It was meant to be a subplot for the movie Justice League – before Superman was brought back to life. At the end of the movie, however, Batman would’ve died and Lois would have raised her child together with Superman.

Comic purists shudder at the mere thought of such a plot. It seems the people in charge at Warner Bros. and DC Studios did too; Snyder’s version was killed off during the conception phase. And they can do that. After all, the two studios have a tight hold on the copyright to Superman. At least for the time being.

But what happens when the copyrights to Superman and Batman expire?

Superheroes live forever – copyrights don’t

«A sad fact of Hollywood is that while superheroes never truly die, all copyrights do,» writes showbiz magazine Variety. I couldn’t have put it better myself. And neither could Disney. They’ve been dealing with the copyrights on Mickey Mouse expiring earlier this year. At least the ones to the Steamboat Willie version. The day of the expiry, a trailer for a horror game featuring Steamboat Willie Mickey was released. Obviously without the blessing of the creators of Mickey, but still completely legal.

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What happened? When the copyright of the 1928 version of Mickey expired, the cuddly mouse became what is called public domain. In other words, works, figures and characters that are no longer protected by copyright become freely available. This usually happens 70 years after the creator’s death. If there’s no explicit creator, or if the date of death is unknown, the date of publication of the work applies.

What applies to Mickey naturally applies to everyone. Also to comic icons such as Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. They’re next in line when it comes to copyrights expiring.

So could Batman and Lois Lane have a baby together?

So Snyder’s vision that was rejected by Warner Bros. and DC could actually become a reality. At least Synder would no longer need DC’s permission to put into effect his off-the-wall story. But first, Snyder needs to wait. Superman and Lois Lane will not enter the public domain until 2034. Closely followed by Batman in 2035, the Joker in 2036 and Wonder Woman in 2037.

And then?

«There’s going to be 100 of them,» says comic book author and Batman expert in the Variety article, referring to the flood of unauthorised comics expected on the day Batman’s copyright expires. The movie world will also pounce on the characters and make their own versions. Just as has already happened to Dracula or Robin Hood, for example – characters that have long been part of the public domain. But there are still restrictions, Sims points out. «You get Batman, but you don’t get Robin. You get Superman, but you don’t get Kryptonite.»

Superman and his greatest nemesis: Kryptonite.
Source: DC Comics

What Sims is saying is that copyright doesn’t apply generally, but only to individual representation of the character – which each have their own expiry date. In other words, the first version of Superman from 1938 didn’t feature Kryptonite as his Achilles heel and couldn’t even fly yet, but only jump very far. The copyright, which expires in 2034, therefore only affects this exact version of Superman. It will be years before Superman can be made weak by Kryptonite or even fly outside of a DC production.

How DC’s protecting itself from the copyright collapse

As Variety reported, DC is well aware of this. Already back in 2001, Jay Kogan, who was deputy head of DC’s legal department at the time, presented a strategy for protecting characters. Especially for those that would fall into the public domain in the coming decades. Because only the older versions lose protection, he urged that the DC characters always be kept fresh and up-to-date.

Indeed, DC has done a good job of slightly changing not only the appearance of Superman, but also his traits, powers and weaknesses over the years. You know, keeping him fresh and up-to-date. For copyright purposes, there was a new representation of the superhero each time, even if his basic nature remained unchanged. At the same time, these new strengths and weaknesses became such a large part of people’s collective consciousness that any unauthorised version of Superman would merely seem like a cheap second-rate copy.

After all, what would Superman be without Kryptonite? Or without the iconic «S» on his chest? That same «S», which has only been an explicit symbol of the Kryptonians’ hope since the 2003 comic Superman: Birthright.

That’s not an S on his chest, but the Kryptonian symbol of hope, says Superman in Man of Steel.
Source: Man of Steel / Warner Bros. & DC Studios

«The public should be conditioned to view any works from unrelated parties featuring a trademark owner’s characters as second-rate knockoffs,» Kogan from the legal division wrote in that same report. Clever. Thereby, DC is ensuring it’s no longer copyright law that protects its characters, but the fans.

Will copyright expiration be DC’s Kryptonite?

«People will make a run at these characters because there’s money to be made,» predicts Mark Waid, comic author and historian best known for his work on DC comics including Superman: Birthright. «How about Superman versus Godzilla? It’s a grey area. But this town works on the speed of capitalism, right?» he adds in the interview with Variety.

Comic author Chris Sims also believes this. But adds: «It’s gonna come down to execution.» There’s one company that’s used to doing it.»

Header image: Man of Steel / Warner Bros. & DC Studios

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Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I write about technology as if it were cinema, and about films as if they were real life. Between bits and blockbusters, I’m after stories that move people, not just generate clicks. And yes – sometimes I listen to film scores louder than I probably should.

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