The earliest Woody Woodpecker clips won't enter the public domain util 2035. The Shadow debuted in 1930, so it is also not yet in the public domain, but was al

The earliest Woody Woodpecker clips won't enter the public domain util 2035. The Shadow debuted in 1930, so it is also not yet in the public domain, but was also in a movie as recently as 1994, and it still appearing in licensed comics in 2015 and ongoing. Some Tom Swift books have entered the public domain, but not all, and the character is still covered under trademark law also. You're making a great point about how copyright is too long, leaving characters to languish, but none of your examples are actually in the public domain.