Popeye gets discharged in Europe

Mark Evanier reminds us that Popeye falls into the public domain today in Europe under an EU law that restricts the rights of authors to 70 years after their death. Elzie "E. C." Segar, the Illinois artist who created Popeye, Olive Oyl, brother Castor Oyl and Bluto, died in 1938. So if you’re in Old Blighty and feel the urge to print t-shirts or write that story of Popeye the Sailor Man and his lusty sea life with Bluto, rum, sodomy, and the lash– now’s your chance.

Just don’t let us know about it here in America, as King Features Syndicate still holds the copyright and trademark here and plan on vigorously enforcing it.