Batman is set to enter the U.S. public domain in 2035, but that does not mean DC loses ownership of Batman altogether. Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27, published in 1939. Under U.S. copyright law, qualifying works from that era can receive up to 95 years of copyright protection. That puts the original 1939 Batman into the public domain on January 1, 2035. But there is an important catch: only the Batman contained in that original material becomes public domain. Later additions to the character remain protected by their own copyrights. Robin, for example, first appeared in 1940. Many of Batman's famous villains, costumes, vehicles, story elements, and other pieces of his mythology were introduced later and therefore have separate copyright histories. This means someone could potentially create a new Batman story using the 1939 version of Batman without DC's permission. But they could not simply use every element of the modern Batman universe. Trademark law is another iss...