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Superman falls into public domain in less than nine years - but DC Comics believes it's already found a solution to that problem

"Owning Superman isn't the same as understanding Superman," DC Comics president and publisher Jim Lee said at NYCC 2025

Published on Thu Oct 09 2025

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In 2035, DC Comics will celebrate 100 years of storytelling — but one year earlier, Superman will enter into public domain in the United States, as per current copyright law. As DC president, publisher, and chief creative officer Jim Lee revealed during an appearance at New York Comic Con 2025, the company isn’t too worried about the latter event, even knowing it’s less than a decade away.

For those who weren’t aware: Superman as a character falls into public domain on January 1, 2034 — but it’s only the version of the character as published in Action Comics #1 back in 1938. Current U.S. copyright law drops work into the public domain 95 years after initial publication, meaning that both Superman and Clark Kent (not to mention Lois Lane) will enter into public domain in less than nine years, but the Daily Planet, Jimmy Olsen, Lex Luthor, or even a Superman that flies will still be copyrighted — they all first appeared in 1940, with the exception of Superman’s flight, which showed up a year later.

Nonetheless, a Superman will be public domain in 2034… but speaking during an appearance at NYCC 2025’s retailers day on October 8, Lee didn’t seem overly concerned about it happening.

Speaking about problems facing DC Comics in the future, Lee said, “Yes, characters will fall into public domain. It's already happening. We've all seen these unsettling knockoffs of Mickey Mouse floating around online. But here's the truth: the character isn't the magic. The storytelling is. The world-building is. Owning Superman isn't the same as understanding Superman — knowing how he moves, how he speaks, what he stands for.”

He went on, “Anyone can draw a cape. Anyone can write a hero. That's been around as long as comics have been, and it's called fan fiction. There's nothing wrong with fan fiction. It shows how deeply these characters live inside all of us. But Superman only feels right when he's in the DC universe, our universe, our mythos. That's what endures. That what will carry us into the next century.”

After all, when Superman becomes public domain, it doesn’t mean that DC has to stop using the character — and even if other creators want to bring a Superman into their own stories, only DC will have the ability to use all of Superman as he exists in fans’ imaginations and memories.

New York Comic Con 2025 continues through Sunday, October 12.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.