>>10575286>>10576609Just because something goes up to public domain doesn't mean everything about the character is now free to use by anyone.
For a lot of old characters that are popular today, it actually takes years and years for the design everyone knows and is popular to become public domain, since the character underwent many changes (all copyrighted) over the years for it to become the one we know today.
So if Mezco cheaped out and didn't license the garishly colored Dick Tracy, they would have made this generic nobody.
Other characters that have become public domain but are still licensed are Sherlock Holmes and Conan (in europe). Since they're limited to the very first appearances and stories, some people who don't understand public domain laws have gotten sued and the rest is ignored, because no one recognizes the generic nobodies they're making art/books/comics/movies/etc about.
It looks bootleg as fuck.
