In 10 years Superman will belong to everyone.

This year has finally brought the arrival of the Mickey Mouse original to the public domainafter the successive Disney's successful attempts to move this date as far away from this date as possible. But everything in life comes to an end.

January 1st "Steamboat Willie"became part of the public domain in the U.S. because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.) prior to January 1, 1929 (you have a list of the works that have entered the public domain here). Shortly after this happened, the following were announced two horror comedies starring Mickey Mouse. And in 10 years Superman and Lois Lane will enter the public domain, Batman the following year, then the Joker in 2036 and Wonder Woman in 2037.

But just because a character, or the first version of a character, becomes a cultural asset of humanity does not mean that you can do whatever you want with it. But if based on it to make versions. This is something that Disney has greatly benefited from throughout its history, since the fairy tales, on which it has historically relied to build its empire, have their origin in public domain works that it could adapt at its free will, changing whatever it pleased... if not, look at The Little Mermaid and his change of helm in the third act. Or even The Lion Kingwhich is still a version of the work Hamlet from William Shakespeare.

Companies protect themselves from the misuse of their intellectual properties through certain ruses, which are entirely justifiable. The first thing that Disney did when it saw that the expiration date of the Steamboat Willie was to use a fragment of it as part of the logo of the animation studio "Disney Animation Studio". Beginning in 2007, the studio began accompanying the production logo with an animated image of Steamboat Willieshown at the beginning of the movies after the logo of Walt Disney Pictures. The opening logo of the films shows Mickey Mousein its aspect of Steamboat WillieThe Disney Empire is now using the mouse, whistling and driving the rudder as he did in that short film. In this subtle way, the Disney Empire ensures that no one can use the image of the mouse in logos and trademarks.

The original Superman could only jump, not fly. The powers will fall into the public domain one by one, year by year.

Warner/DC is preparing in the same way. The first thing to keep in mind is that in 10 years the public Superman will not be able to fly. Since that characteristic of the character would come later. What he will be able to do is to jump vertiginously. Nor will he be able to use kryptonite. And this is part of the shield that the owners of the original rights use to keep the same ones year after year, to make the characters evolve.

That's why the first adaptations, comics and movies, to arrive about Superman within a decade will have to stick to the original versions of the characters.. Hence, comics are always adding new identifying characteristics to their characters, changing us, even gender or skin color. Each new iteration adds years of life to the copyright.

By gradually changing a character's characteristics, the rights owner can maintain the character's current image as its de facto standard in the public mind.

The idea is to change the public's perception of Superman, Batman and the rest. We have to change their costumes, their companions in their adventures, the evildoers, and of course, their powers and weaknesses. The public must forget the "former"Superman to identify the new one as the original. This way you will associate the new versions that come out, when DC loses the rights to the principle, as cheap and crappy copies.

For example, the upcoming Superman movie will feature the characters from "The Authority"a comic book series from 1999. Associating these new characters with Superman will help protect Superman's new image and history for years to come.

Another tactic is to create products of high formal quality. Hence the big productions with big budgets. If you make a movie of one of these characters, it must be spectacular, technically speaking, so that the audience can tell the difference between the original product and the copy.

And finally, another way to maintain control of the characters is to cover them with other intellectual properties. Associating nicknames (such as "Man of Steel"), put registered logos on their clothing (Superman's S) or create registered slogans for the heroes.

Even so, with these shieldsAny creator will be able to make a comic book or movie about Superman. Most likely, the first ones will be B horror movies. The creators only have to be careful not to violate any trademark, and above all, make it clear when announcing it that it is not related to the current work.

It is most likely that nothing much will change, for all that we have said. And although there will always be someone who will try to take advantage of the works of others, to make money quickly and effortlessly, the important thing is that these works, being released, can be used freely by citizens without fear of corporate reprisals. As for example, right now you can take the original image from Mickey Mouse in "Steamboat Willie"and distort it, create something different from it.

In 10 years Superman will be free. And you will be able to do whatever you want with that original mythical image. As long as it is clear that this representation does not come from Warner/DC.