Copyright of early comics

[Steven Back]

What is the copyright status of the earliest Disney comics?

I'm going by memory but isn't copyrights 50 years after the death of the
original holder, or 75 years in the case of corporations?

Since many of the early comics go back 70 years, we must be nearing the
limit for some of them.

Still I also remember some controversy when back in the 60's (70's?) some
group published a bunch of early MM strips that had technically gone into
the public domain, but were threaten by Disney lawyers because of trademark
rather than copyright rules.

What's the story and when (if ever) will the early comics be in the public
domain?

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