Popeye’s copyright entered the public domain on January 1, 2025, with almost immediate consequences. The horror film and derivative work “Popeye the Slayer Man” was released in 2025, bringing Popeye’s intellectual property back into the spotlight. And now Hearst Holdings, Inc., owner of the POPEYE trademark, has filed a trademark opposition to block the application of Freedom Pro Wrestling, LLC to register POPEYE for “entertainment services in the nature of live wrestling performances at stadiums,” among other related uses.

Hearst Holdings argues that use of the POPEYE mark in connection with wrestling stadiums could tarnish and dilute the reputation of the Popeye brands and may lead consumers to believe that the original Popeye is affiliated with wrestling arenas. This opposition highlights a key difference in intellectual property law: while copyrights eventually enter the public domain after a fixed term, trademark rights can continue indefinitely if the mark remains in use and the registration is properly maintained. Additionally, just because a work enters the public domain does not mean that it can be freely used. Only the elements in the expression of that specific version have entered the public domain.

Whether it is Popeye or Mickey Mouse, trademark owners must maintain and defend their trademarks or risk abandonment and their marks becoming generic. Hearst Holdings has thus far maintained numerous POPEYE trademark registrations, including for goods such as jackets, hats, t-shirts, amusement park and entertainment services, metal signs and cartoon strips.

For further reading from our website on the topics discussed here, see the following insights and IP Bits & Pieces®: Happy Public Domain Day 2025!, Public Domain Day 2024: Disney’s Mickey Mouse, Protecting Aaron Judge’s Trademarks: How International Classes Shape Trademark Rights and our Trademark FAQs.