Popeye, the Sailor Man, Dies at 95

POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN

January 17, 1929 - January 1, 2025

NEW YORK - Popeye the Sailor Man, beloved spinach enthusiast and champion of the underdog, has entered the public domain after 95 years of copyrighted adventures. Born in the panels of E.C. Segar's "Thimble Theatre" comic strip on January 17, 1929, Popeye was initially conceived as a supporting character but quickly muscled his way into starring role status, becoming one of the most recognizable characters in entertainment history. 

The gruff-voiced sailor is predeceased by his longtime sweetheart Olive Oyl (who entered the public domain in 2014) and is survived by his adopted son Swee'Pea (who will fall into the public domain in 2028), and his hamburger-loving friend J. Wellington Wimpy (also entering the public domain in 2028).  While Popeye's original comic strip incarnation may now belong to the ages (and the public), his trademark rights remain very much alive and flexing. Hearst Holdings continues to maintain various trademark protections over the sailor's commercial likeness and name. Would-be adapters should note that while they can now freely create new works based on the original 1929 Popeye character, they'll need to navigate carefully around existing trademark protections - much like sailing through stormy seas while avoiding spinach cans thrown by an angry sailor. 

Throughout his copyrighted life, Popeye appeared in countless comic strips, animated shorts, feature films, and on merchandise. His famous catchphrases "I yam what I yam" and "That's all I can stands, 'cause I can't stands no more!" entered the cultural lexicon, while his promotion of spinach allegedly caused a 33% increase in US spinach consumption during the 1930s. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that fans respect trademark laws and consider making a donation to the Seaman's Church.  

A celebration of life was held on January 1, 2025, where attendees shared their own Popeye stories--most of which qualified as fair use under Section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act, as amended.  Popeye's legacy reminds us that while copyright may be temporary, trademark protection and cultural impact can last well beyond the original term of protection. As the sailor himself might say, "I yam what I yam, and that's all that I yam - but check with your lawyers first!"

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About the Image 

Elzie Segar. Thimble Theatre Starring Popeye, series no. 1, 1931. New York: Sonnet Publishing Co. Stephen A. Geppi Collection of Comics and Graphic Arts, Serial and Government Publications Division, Library of Congress (002.00.00) © King Features Syndicate © Sonnet Publishing Co.

DISCLAIMER: THIS ARTICLE DISCUSSES GENERAL LEGAL ISSUES OF INTEREST AND IS NOT DESIGNED TO GIVE ANY SPECIFIC LEGAL ADVICE CONCERNING ANY SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES. PROFESSIONAL LEGAL ADVICE MUST BE OBTAINED BEFORE ACTING UPON ANY OF THE ADVICE CONTAINED IN THIS ARTICLE.

ABOUT LLOYD J. JASSIN

Mr. Jassin possesses a unique set of professional credentials. In addition to being a nationally recognized book publishing attorney, he was a publishing executive, serving as director of publicity for a division of Simon & Schuster. He helps authors, agents, and publishers avoid contractual traps and negotiate win-win deals. He will let you know if a contract is viable and what it will take to make it signable. He's available to answer questions about book contracts, film options, copyright, merchandise licensing, publicity, and privacy rights, and provide libel reviews of unpublished manuscripts. Whether choosing a title for a new book series or the name of a book publisher, podcast, or blog, he can help you avoid trademark infringement by doing a trademark clearance search and registering your mark. After law school, he worked for Viacom Enterprises, the world's largest distributor of feature films and off-network television programming. Before founding his firm, he was a trademark associate at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman, an internationally respected intellectual property boutique. He's the co-author of The Copyright Permission and Libel Handbook (John Wiley & Sons). He's been quoted in Publishers Weekly, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Fortune, and other publications, and he has taken the stage at BookExpo and spoken at Book Industry Study Group events. He's a former adjunct professor at the NYU Center for Publishing. Mr. Jassin graduated from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey. Location: 104 West 40th Street, 5th FL, New York, NY 10018, 212.354.4444. Email:  jassin@copylaw.com.

Book Collaboration Agreement: Essential Legal Guide for Co-Authors and Ghostwriters

I can never understand how two men can write a book together;

to me, that's like three people getting together to have a baby.

-- Evelyn Waugh (novelist, Brideshead Revisited)

Literary collaborations fail at alarming rates, often leaving co-authors in costly legal battles over copyright ownership, royalties, and creative control. Like marriages, nearly half of author partnerships end in disputes that could have been avoided with a written agreement.

The best time to draft a collaboration or ghostwriter agreement is before creative work begins—while both parties are still optimistic. A well-crafted agreement sets expectations, defines rights, and provides a roadmap for resolving disputes.

What Is a Book Collaboration Agreement?

A collaboration agreement defines the parties’ goals and sets boundaries, including who owns and controls intellectual property rights. Key provisions address copyright ownership, compensation, creative control, credit, and dispute resolution. How these are negotiated depends largely on whether you are hiring a writer or entering into a true joint authorship arrangement, industry practice, and legal guidance.

Who Owns the Copyright in Co-Authored Books? 

In the absence of a written agreement, collaborators are generally deemed joint authors. Each owns an equal, undivided 50% interest in the copyright and the income it generates. The Copyright Act, a federal statute, sets these default rules, and courts do not adjust ownership shares based on reputation, effort, or experience.

The main exception is the work made for hire doctrine. If a work is created as a “work for hire,” the hiring party is considered the author and owns the copyright outright. This status, however, requires a written agreement expressly stating the work is “made for hire.” Courts view after-the-fact attempts to recast a project as a work for hire with skepticism, often regarding them as attempts to strip creators of their rights.

For joint authorship to exist, there must be a shared intent. The Copyright Act defines a joint work as one “prepared by two or more authors with the intention that their contributions be merged into inseparable or interdependent parts of a unitary whole.” Editors, researchers, or others who contribute without this mutual intent are not considered co-authors.

When a joint work exists, either author may publish or license non-exclusive rights without the other’s consent. However, granting exclusive rights requires unanimous agreement. If there is no written contract—or the contract fails to address licensing—an uncooperative co-author (or their heirs) can block a sale or exclusive license.

Fortunately, these default rules can be overridden. A written collaboration agreement can clarify ownership percentages, revenue splits, decision-making authority, credit, and procedures for resolving disputes—thereby avoiding costly and disruptive conflicts down the road.

How to Structure a Ghostwriter Writer Agreement: Rights and Payment Terms

Equal sharing of rights should be reserved true joint authorship.   to be joint authors. This is often what people have in mind (even if they don’t use the legal term) when they bring in a ghostwriter or independent contractor.A "work for hire" is probably what many people would have contemplated had they thought about it when hiring a ghostwriter or independent contractor. With a work-for-hire, the commissioning or hiring party, not the writer, is considered the author and owner of one hundred percent of the work. 

A formal ghostwriter agreement should contain the legal phraseology, "the parties expressly agree that the work shall be considered a work made for hire." After-the-fact attempts to classify a work as a work for hire are not recognized in all states. For this reason, it's considered best practice to include a backup copyright assignment in work for hire agreements.  

Essential Contract Terms for Book Collaborations

Responsibilities and Deliverables. Be specific about what must be delivered and when. When you engage a writer to help with a nonfiction book, the writer typically will prepare a book proposal before completing the manuscript. A book proposal is a detailed overview of the book, it contains the author’s credentials and information about how the book can be marketed, plus one or two sample chapters. 

In the case of a memoir, it's also important to lay out what the writer is allowed to disclose.  Is their job to put the best face on the subject of the story without resorting to blatant deception? How many words? The average word count for a general interest nonfiction book clocks in between 50,000 to 60,000 words. 

In true collaborations, if one author has greater publishing experience, the parties may agree to designate that person as the point person to negotiate with agents and publishers. The less experienced collaborator can condition their approval of any publishing contract on the inclusion of certain minimum acceptable terms.

Advances, Royalties, and Payment Schedules. In traditional publishing, authors receive an advance against future royalties—typically paid in two or three installments (for example, half on signing and half on delivery and acceptance of the manuscript). An advance is recoupable but not returnable; in other words, it functions like a loan against the book’s future earnings.

For ghostwriting arrangements, deferring part of the fee can help the hiring party engage a more experienced writer without paying large sums upfront. Typically, a portion of the writer’s fee is paid when the agreement is signed, with additional payments tied to milestones such as delivery of a proposal, draft chapters, or the final manuscript.

The agreement should also address what happens if either party withdraws. For example, if the subject abandons the project, the contract can specify that the writer keeps any payments already received. This type of provision softens the financial impact of a failed collaboration.

Finally, if the writer is to share in royalties or licensing income, the agreement must spell out how proceeds will be divided from the sale or license of the book and related rights (e.g., film, television, or live stage). In practice, a ghostwriter’s or collaborator’s percentage from book royalties may differ from their share of film or television rights—especially in the case of memoirs.

Author Credit. By some estimates, up to 70% of nonfiction books are ghostwritten. For example, it is widely believed that Theodore Sorenson wrote John F. Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Profiles in Courage,” for which JFK took both the prize and sole credit.  

Common writing credit formats:

• "by Subject and Writer"
• "Subject with Writer"
• "as told to Writer"
• Ghostwritten (subject's name only)

Because ghostwriters typically forgo public recognition, they may negotiate for higher fees to compensate for the lack of career-building visibility that comes with cover credit. From the publisher’s perspective, the order, size, and prominence of names on the cover and title page can influence marketing and sales, which is why the agreement should explicitly address how credit will be handled. 

Copyright Ownership. In the event of a creative divorce, except in the case of a true work for hire, it may be possible to separate out each author's discrete contribution and transfer those rights to the original contributor. One permutation of this is, "the copyright ownership of the material provided by each party shall revert to and revest in the contributing party with the result that neither party shall be permitted to use the materials contributed by the other without such others written permission."  

Death, Disability and Succession Planning. Agreements should include rules for hiring someone to complete the manuscript if either party dies, becomes disabled, or an intractable disagreement arises.  If the commissioning party dies the person designated in their will or estate plan to manage their literary property, whether an a general executor, or literary executor, can step into their place to oversee completion of the work and make related business decisions. Because general executors or trustees are not always experienced in publishing, the agreement may name an alternate decision-maker or set out guidelines to ensure continuity and protect the interests the departing author. 

When one party becomes disabled, the agreement should distinguish between temporary and permanent disability. If the disability makes it impossible for someone to continue (e.g., long-term incapacity), the agreement should address (i) whether a substitute writer may be engaged, (ii) how compensation to the disabled party (or their heirs) will be adjusted, and (iii) whether and how the substitute will receive credit.

For works requiring updates (such as textbooks), include provisions allowing the non-departing authors to revise the work and reduce compensation paid to the departing author or their heirs. Specify whether the person hired to complete the work, or undertake future revisions can receive author credit and what form it will take.    

Decision-Making Authority and Editorial Control. Unlike a ghostwriting agreement, where one party is essentially hired to provide writing services, a true collaboration agreement assumes joint ownership and shared responsibility for both the business and creative aspects of the work. Control of business affairs (i.e., who is responsible for seeking offers and approving contracts) and editorial matters (i.e., who has the authority to approve the manuscript) are central issues. The parties may decide that unanimity is required for certain decisions (e.g., approval of the initial publishing contract). If one collaborator retains approval rights over the manuscript, the agreement should require them to notify the other party within X days after delivery if the manuscript is acceptable. If not acceptable, they should provide written comments or recommendations on what improvements are needed. Requiring detailed editorial reasons within a set timeframe creates a safeguard against terminating a writer merely for convenience.

Representations, Warranties and Indemnification.  From a writer-for-hire's perspecitve, it's important to have the subject promise that they will: 

Provide access to pertinent documents (diaries, memorabilia, business papers)

Provide reasonable access to themselves

Use best efforts to provide access to other necessary individuals

Cooperate in good faith in pursuing a publishing deal

Pay special attention to the indemnity.  An indemnity is a promise to reimburse the other party should they breach their warranties.  If the writer-for-hire relies on material provided by the hiring party, consider exclusing that material from the  writer's representations and warranties. 

Whether you are the author or a writer-for-hire, it's reassuring to be named as an additional insured on a publisher's media perils policy. While the big five publishers all have media perils policies, smaller publishers may not.    

Protecting Confidential Information. Confidentiality clauses protect information exchanged between two individuals. Whether the information gained working on a book concerns family or business matters, a well-drafted confidentiality clause can deter someone from using that information against the discloser for personal gain. A well-drafted agreement might also include a non-disparagement clause.  This is particularly important if you are a public figure or represent a public figure.  

"You agree that you will not (nor will you cause or cooperate with others to) publicly criticize, ridicule, disparage or defame Subject, his family, his business associates, company, directors, officers, shareholders, employees, agents, or attorneys, with or through any written or oral statement or image, whether or not they are made anonymously or through the use of a pseudonym."

Case Study: Proceeding Without a Signed Contract — The Fay Vincent–David Kaplan Dispute

The dispute between Fay Vincent Jr., former commissioner of baseball, and writer David Kaplan illustrates the risks of moving forward without a signed collaboration agreement. The two planned a tell-all memoir with a $300,000 advance from Little, Brown & Company, split 60/40. Vincent sat for interviews and made editorial suggestions, but later withdrew and terminated his publishing contract.

Kaplan sued, seeking control of the manuscript. The court, however, found their unsigned collaboration agreement unenforceable and declined to resolve the joint authorship question on summary judgment.

Lesson: Even a carefully drafted agreement has no force if it is never executed.

Conclusion

The time to finalize a collaboration agreement is before the creative process begins — while both parties are enthusiastic about the project and willing to cooperate. Although negotiating financial terms, copyright ownership, and procedures for handling disputes may feel uncomfortable, addressing these issues upfront helps avoid costly legal battles later.

A well-crafted collaboration agreement protects both parties’ interests and provides a clear roadmap for the partnership. Whether you are hiring a ghostwriter, co-authoring with another writer, or adapting someone’s life story, investing in proper legal documentation at the outset can save time, money, and relationships in the long run.

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Disclaimer. This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change over time. The application of law depends on specific facts and circumstances. You should consult a qualified attorney before relying on any information contained here.

About Lloyd J. Jassin. 

Practice Areas: Book publishing and entertainment law, contract negotiation, copyright, trademark, libel review

Services: Represents authors, literary agents, and publishers in contract negotiations and intellectual property matters. He provides libel reviews of unpublished manuscripts, trademark clearance searches, and copyright guidance.

Background:

• Former Simon & Schuster book publishing executive
• Former Viacom Enterprises attorney (film and television distribution)
• Former trademark associate at Cowan, Liebowitz & Latman
• Co-author of The Copyright Permission and Libel Handbook
• Former chair of the executive committee of the Center for Independent Publishing

Education: Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law (1991)

Bar Admissions: New York, New Jersey

Media Coverage: I've been featured in publications such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and Publishers Weekly.  

Speaking Experience: BookExpo, Book Industry Study Group events, NYU Center for Publishing (former adjunct)

Contact Information:

Law Offices of Lloyd J. Jassin

104 West 40th Street, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10018

Phone: 212.354.4444

Email: jassin@copylaw.org

Copyright Recapture: How to (Legally) Terminate Your Book Contract

1941 Superman "Breaking Chains" Trademark

OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

One of the most important rights that authors and their heirs hold is the ability to terminate book publishing contracts. To start this process, it's crucial to examine the details of your publishing agreement.  

First, look for contractual provisions that might allow you to end the contract, such as the publisher not properly reporting sales or failing to keep your book available for sale. If you don't find a clear reason in your contract for ending it, don't worry. Even when the contract doesn't provide a straightforward path to termination, authors have a lesser-known but powerful option under the U.S. Copyright Act. Regardless of any agreements to the contrary, it's crucial to recognize that the right to terminate holds greater authority than the terms outlined in the agreement.

Copyright Termination Rights Explained

 

To protect authors of older works from having to live with bad "life of copyright" grants, Section 203 of the Copyright Act allows authors and other creators to terminate a grant of rights, notwithstanding any agreement to the contrary.  What this means is the termination right trumps what's written in the agreement.

The principles outlined here also work for film and television options, as well as other copyright assignments, grants and licenses. 

Provided the notice complies with the Copyright Office's rigid requirements and is timely filed, the termination will take effect "no earlier than 40 years after the execution of the grant or 35 years after publication under the grant (whichever comes first)." When a work is eligible for termination is best determined by a copyright attorney.

"Don't forget that the termination right trumps what's written in the agreement."

  🔺Heirs should be aware that Section 203 only applies to grants made by authors and does not encompass grants or re-grants made by the heirs themselves. If you are an heir, be cautious, as publishers may try to convince you to surrender your rights for little money through re-grant requests, effectively negating termination rights.

Works for hire are immune to statutory termination, which is why you should be wary of signing a work for hire agreement. The concept of work for hire is complicated. Therefore, just because a contract says it is work for hire or created in the course of employment does not make it so. For clarification, contract a copyright attorney. 

 

While the termination right does not apply to foreign grants of rights, many countries have their own termination statutes. For example, in Canada, 25 years after the death of an author, rights automatically revert to the author's estate. Here is a link to an excellent article by Professor Rebecca Giblin concerning reversion rights outside the U.S.

Termination Notices Are Challenging to Draft

If you wish to terminate a rights agreement careful implementation is required. You must (a) carefully calculate the termination date; (b) draft the notice of termination; (c) sign it; (d) serve it; and (e) submit the documents for recordation (with the recordation fee) electronically through the Copyright Office’s online system. The documents will then be scrutinized by the Copyright Office and rejected if they do not comply in both content and form. 

In other words, the process of reclaiming copyright is not automatic. In the context of joint works, a termination notice requires the signatures of the a majority of the co-authors. The Copyright Act gives the termination rights holder the option, but not the obligation, to reclaim their copyrights. Consequently, the majority of

termination rights expire without being exercised.

  
It is the author's responsibility to calculate the termination date. It can be anytime during a five-year window beginning the earlier of (a) thirty-five years from the date of first publication or (b) forty years from the date of execution. A notice of termination may be served ten years before the effective termination date or as late as two years before. A missed deadline or improperly drafted notice is a fatal mistake.

Example: Andrea signed a contract for her first novel on September 26, 1989. The book was published on September 26, 1992. The termination window is from September 26, 2024, to September 26, 2029. The earliest Andrea (or her surviving family members) may serve the notice of termination is September 26, 2014, ten years before the earliest possible termination date. The latest Andrea (or her surviving family members) may serve notice is September 2027, two years before the latest possible termination date.

Andrea must serve the notice on her publisher or publisher's successor, fill out the appropriate paperwork, and record the notice of termination with the Copyright Office. This public record becomes part of the work's chain of title, establishing legal ownership. Andrea's name and termination notice would appear in the title chain if anyone were to review the Copyright Office's database.

Derivative Works Exception

Within the framework of copyright law's "derivative works exception," a derivative work created before termination retains the right to be utilized according to the terms of the license agreement. To illustrate, a film adaptation of Andrea's novel can still be streamed after termination, with the stipulation that the studio is obligated to report to Andrea. However, it is important to note that the studio is restricted from generating new derivative works falling under the terminated grant of rights.

Terminating Pre-1978 Works

For works published before January 1, 1978, the maximum term of protection for certain works was 56 years. Over time, Congress increased the term of copyright protection from 56 to 75 years. In 1998 Congress increased the term again by 20 years for a total of 95 years. Congress also created a new right of termination for pre-1978 grants, licenses, and assignments. 

 

For these older works, the Act provides a five-year termination window beginning 56 years after a work was first published or registered for copyright. To terminate, the author, or their surviving spouse and children, must serve and record the termination notice within the time limits specified by the Copyright Act. If not terminated, the agreement will continue for the duration of the agreement. Unlike post-1977 grants, licenses, and assignments, pre-1978 grants, licenses, and assignments made by an author's widow, children, and other statutory beneficiaries, are terminable.

Case & Comment. In 1938 Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, two young men from Cleveland, Ohio, signed over all of their rights to the Superman character to DC Comics for $130.00 and vague promises of future work. To address this and similar economic injustices, Congress gave authors a second chance to strike better financial deals. As a result, in 1999, using Section 302 of the Copyright Act, Siegel's heirs recaptured his rights to the Superman character. Unlike authors of joint works created after January 1, 1978, each author of a pre-1978 joint work may serve a notice of termination on their own behalf and recapture their share of the copyright.

Fortunately, you don't have to be related to a man of steel to reclaim copyrights. The heirs of Hank Williams, William Saroyan, Truman Capote, Joe Young, Lorenz Hart, and many others have availed themselves of these valuable rights.

Estate Planning Considerations

 

As part of your estate planning, advise your statutory successors of your right to terminate. If you do not survive to exercise termination, that right is distributed to your family members as a statutory class. They may exercise this powerful right despite any agreement to the contrary. While copyright termination rights are kryptonite to copyright contracts, read on how this right can unintentionally be waived (given up).

Hoping they will catch family members off guard, publishers and motion picture studios may make offers to sweeten existing contract terms after an author dies.

Before signing an agreement that revokes and re-grants rights, family members should carefully review the document and consult with a termination rights attorney. If asked to sign during the period termination could be effected, they may be waiving their right to terminate.

If that later agreement revokes a publishing agreement, or film option, in exchange for a new contract, the new contract should be a significantly better deal than the previous grant. If not, they've lost the opportunity to renegotiate the terms of the agreement.

Bottom Line

Call us if you are thinking about exercising your termination rights or need assistance renegotiating your entertainment or publishing agreement. Fees will depend upon the complexity of the matter and the number of works being terminated. We can help you: (i) identify which copyrights are eligible for termination; (ii) determine who is the proper party to exercise those termination rights; (iii) prepare and record the notice of termination; (iv) help you renegotiate your existing contract; or (v) work with your trusts and estates attorney on reopening an estate, or seeking copyright damages that flow from a determination of ownership or co-ownership of a recaptured copyright.

NOTICE: This article discusses general legal issues of interest and is not designed to give any specific legal advice pertaining to any specific circumstances. It is important that professional legal advice be obtained before acting upon any of the information contained in this article.

LLOYD J. JASSIN is a book publishing attorney and former publishing executive with a special interest in defamation, copyright, and trademark matters. He is co-author of The Copyright Permission and Libel Handbook: A Step-by-Step Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers (John Wiley & Sons). He has written extensively on negotiating contracts in the publishing and entertainment industries and has been quoted extensively in publications such as the New York Times, Time Magazine, Forbes, Fortune, Publishers Weekly, and the Columbia Journalism Review. You may reach him at jassin@copylaw.com or at (212) 354-4442. His offices are located at 1501 Broadway, Floor 12, New York, NY 10036, and in Madison, NJ.

(c) 2011 - 2024. Lloyd J. Jassin