>>10579534Popeye is a weird case. His original design is rather bootleg looking too and his later designs are still protected.
Here's the weird part. Some shorts are public domain, despite being made after his comic strip appearances. This is why homeless people have been able to release these shorts on DVD for the past two decades and why they appear on the Darkness video game.
I'm lazy, so i can't find a source for why they went public, but i remember reading long ago that one of the holding companies let the rights expire either cuz theyre lazy or weren't aware they owned them.
>making a figure based off his first appearance look by marketing it as a grittier/more realistic incarnationNO THANKS. If you havent noticed, people already bitch about Mezco's not-1:1 efforts for their DC/Marvel toys and I would not give a shit about a non-iconic Dick Tracy. Using an OC Dick Tracy is a lot harder to sell.
ALSO, you have to remember that they want to keep a good working relationship with the license holders. How pissed would they be if Mezco bootlegged Dick Tracy? Rights denied and we'd have nothing.
also also, trademarks can be renewed infinitely. Being that I'm lazy, i'm not going to look up what that actually entails, but it's stopped various PD characters to be used. I forget if this is just a name/logo thing or whatever, but I'm not looking that shit up.
