Last year, it was Mickey Mouse. This year, Popeye the Sailor joins Mickey as a new entrant to the public domain — that is, shedding his core copyright protections on Jan. 1. He's merely the most ...

Jan. 1 is Public Domain Day, meaning artworks from 1929 (or 1924 in the case of sound recordings) are now free for all creators to use and abuse to their hearts' content. The works of art, music, ...