Public Domain Super Heroes is a research, commentary, and publishing project built around characters, stories, and cultural artifacts that are, to the best of our knowledge, in the public domain. Every effort is made to confirm the status of each work and character before inclusion.
Copyright
All original content on this site — including new stories, essays, artwork, logos, and layouts — is © Public Domain Super Heroes, 2025. These works may not be reproduced, redistributed, or sold without permission.
Trademarks
Public Domain Super Heroes™ is an ongoing publishing initiative featuring original works and new interpretations of characters and concepts that are in the public domain in Canada and the United States.
Names and titles used across this site—including but not limited to Spy Smasher™ and Hop Harrigan™, Captain Midnight™, Red SonYa™, Kull of Atlantis™, Bran Mak Morn™, Cormac Mac Art™, Barbarians of Cimmeria™, Mongo™, and House of Crom™. —are associated with active and upcoming creative works.
Formal trademark applications for select titles and imprint names are planned for submission in 2025/26 as the publishing line expands. Until such filings are completed, all uses of names and titles on this site are made in good faith, in association with original or public-domain–derived creative works. Public Domain Super Heroes respects all existing trademarks and copyrights. If you believe any content on this site raises a rights concern, please contact: legal@publicdomainsuperheroes.com
Public Domain Disclaimer
Characters and works identified as “public domain” are used under the belief that their copyright protections have expired in the United States and Canada. International copyright terms may differ. Readers and creators should verify the public domain status of any work before using it outside this project.
Third-Party Rights
Some characters, names, or properties mentioned in essays, reviews, or blog posts may still be protected by active trademarks or copyrights held by third parties. Such references are made under fair use for purposes of commentary, scholarship, and critique. Public Domain Super Heroes makes no claim of ownership over such marks.
Good Faith Contact
If you believe that any material on this site infringes on your copyright or trademark, please contact us at: legal@publicdomainsuperheroes.com. Please include trademark serial numbers or copyright registration details in your subject line where applicable.
WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN AND HOW DOES IT ALL WORK?
Copyright protects creative expression — the words, art, music, or film that someone makes. It lasts for a set term (in most countries, the life of the author plus 70 years, in the U.S. it is generally publication date + 95 years). Once that term ends, the work passes into the public domain. That means anyone can use, adapt, reprint, or remix it — without asking permission or paying royalties.
Public domain is where a lot of our favorite Golden Age characters live today or will very soon. The public domain characters and stories themselves are free to use, but it’s important to understand that not every drawing, logo, or later version is. We work carefully to make sure the material we use is truly free for anyone.
To illustrate, Superman will be public domain as of January 1, 2034. That means the charcter, as published in 1938, will be free for anyone to use. The costume, the origin, secret origin and power-set of the character, along with the plotlines and/or artwork of that year will no longer be protected by copyright. In that year, Superman was very strong, could leap tall buildings and was invulnerable to bullets and general harm. He could not fly, never demonstrated heat vision and elements like kryptonite and Jimmy Olsen were not yet introduced. To use those changes to the character or elements of the lore, we must wait until the copyright expires on the works where they first appeared: Flight in 2036 (He first flew on the radio in 1940), heat vision in 2047 (he first used his x-ray vision to burn things in 1951), kryptonite in 2039 (kryptonite was first introduced on radio in 1943) and Jimmy Olsen in 2036 (his name was first used on radio in 1940). We track these sorts of developments closely and endeavor to keep our offerings within those rules.
Trademark is different. It doesn’t protect stories or art, but brands. A name, logo, or slogan can be trademarked so that it points to a specific publisher or product in the marketplace. That’s why you’ll see us file marks for the characters and brands we’re building — it’s about clarity and identity, not ownership of the underlying stories.
How We Use It Public Domain Super Heroes exists to celebrate and revive characters who have slipped into the public domain, by building new stories, books, and merchandise around them. We respect copyright law, steer clear of anything still protected, and file our own trademarks where it makes sense to define our brand.Our goal is to make it crystal clear: when you see a Public Domain Super Heroes release, you know it’s ours — but the characters themselves remain free for everyone to enjoy, adapt, and imagine.