The earliest known version of Betty Boop, a symbol of Jazz Age flappers, entered the public domain in the United States on January 1, 2026. According to the Public Domain Day 2026 list released by the Duke Law School's Center for Public Domain Studies, the expiration of copyright protection on works published in 1930 made early works, including the Fleischer Studios animated short Digi Desis, freely available to anyone.
The Betty Boop in the DigiDisis cartoon resembled the image we see today, yet was also quite different. Large eyes, short hair, and a small mouth were already in place, but her ears were drawn like floppy puppy ears rather than earrings, and her nose was small and black. Later, as the design was refined, the ears were replaced with earrings and the nose was reshaped, solidifying the Betty Boop we know today. This early version, set in a restaurant where people and animals mingle, is strongly imbued with Fleischer's signature surreal humor and rhythm. 
The fact that it has become public domain means that adaptations and reinterpretations based on the early work are now possible. However, the rights relationship does not end here. Since trademark rights may remain regardless of the expiration of the copyright, there are continued criticisms that the act of attaching the character name and logo to products requires a different legal judgment. Furthermore, Fleischer Studios explained that the expression that Betty Boop became public domain in 2026 is inaccurate, and issued guidance to the effect that the boundary between which elements are eligible for free use must be drawn. From the creator's perspective, an approach is required to separately check the rights status of later versions from the scope limited to the 1930 works such as Digi Disis.
