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While Betty Boop has been freed from copyright jail, Fleischer Studios isn't going to let the iconic character sing on stage again without a fight.
Shortly after the ball dropped in Times Square, several Broadway producers celebrated that the cartoon character and the basis for the Broadway musical Boop! had entered the public domain. "[A] whole new creative playground just opened," cheered a few producers, and other people wondered whether or not there would soon be another musical made about the seductive starlet. There is a slasher film named Boop already in the works.
But, Fleischer Studios is warning producers not to rush putting Boop on a Broadway marquee.
Only the version of the character from the 1930 cartoon "Dizzy Dishes," which depicts Boop as a half-French poodle girl with floppy dog ears instead of a flapper girl with hoop earrings, has entered the public domain. As with Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Snoopy, the character changed over time, and the familiar version of Betty Boop is still protected under copyright law.
"While the copyright in the 'Dizzy Dishes' cartoon may fall into the public domain in 2026, this does not affect Fleischer Studios' copyright in the fully developed BETTY BOOP character Fleischer Studios created in subsequent cartoons and other uses and continues to use today," explained Mark Fleischer, the chairman of the company. "Fleischer Studios' copyright in that character will therefore remain in force for some years to come, as will Fleischer Studios' copyrights in the many subsequently revised and modern versions of the BETTY BOOP character and related elements," he continued.
In addition, the characters Grampy and Pudgy from the cartoon that appeared in the Broadway musical are also still protected under copyright law.
Further guarding the brand, Fleischer added that "the BETTY BOOP name and various related character designs are well-known and valuable Fleischer Studios trademarks, recognized and registered around the world for a multitude of goods/services and activities, including a full range of merchandise licensed by Fleischer Studios." "These brands continue to enjoy the full protection of trademark and related laws and are unaffected by the expiration of the "Dizzy Dishes" copyright or any other copyright," he insisted. Fleischer Studios trademarked both "Betty Boop" and "Boop!" for live musical theater performances.
While the Supreme Court confirmed that trademark law cannot be used to circumvent copyright law and block what is allowed whenever a copyrighted work enters the public domain, a pair of professors at Duke Law School advise ambitious artists to make sure that "consumers do not think that [their] work is produced or sponsored by the trademark holder." "One way to help dispel potential confusion is to make clear the actual source of the work ..., along with a prominent disclaimer indicating that your work is not produced, sponsored, endorsed, licensed, or approved by the trademark owner," the professors stated.
Multiple people tried to make a musical about Betty Boop over the years.
In 1983, the creator of the musical You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, Clark Gesner, tried to adapt the classic cartoon for Broadway. David Lindsay-Abaire then took a crack at writing the script, and Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Lippa both tried writing the score. The version that finally made it to the Great White Way in 2025 featured an entirely different creative team of Bob Martin, Susan Birkenhead, and David Foster.
The $26 million musical shut after 112 performances.