Tintin Not in Public Domain?, Town v Gown in New Orleans, & More
Around the College Towns: Links and commentary related to urbanism and higher ed for the week of May 11 - May 17.
Note: I use this link round-up to (mostly) focus on stories that fell through the cracks in terms of higher ed and urbanism, rather than big national news (although, sometimes I am forced to do the big stuff). Please send over any tips, authors, or content to cover.
Tintin’s Lawyers Say He Isn’t in Public Domain
I wrote about the timeless allure of Tintin when the character reportedly entered the public domain at the beginning of 2025. In fact, it has been my most popular piece. Despite widespread reporting, there is now some pushback against the collective ownership of the comic that we all celebrated.
The legal team from Artists Rights Society (ARS) reached out to me, representing the rights holders to the Tintin comic, to contend that the work was not in the public domain yet. ARS said that my article was spreading “misinformation.”
Specifically, the case ARS made is as follows:
“Works published in the U.S. before 1930 are in the public domain;”
“For works published in the U.S. between 1930 and through 1977, the copyright term is the date of first U.S. publication plus 95 years thereafter.”
“For works published in 1978 and onward, copyright protection lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years.”
Because Tintin wasn’t officially published in the US until the 1950s, ARS believes the clock for public domain still has 20 more years. Since I am not a lawyer and do not have expertise in these matters, I decided to reach out to an expert on public domain law.
Professor Jennifer Jenkins, Director of the Center for the Study of the Public Domain at Duke University, answered the call on this issue. The center chronicles issues around public domain and copyright, while Prof. Jenkins is an expert on these legal matters. The center was where I had initially linked back to in my own Tintin article.
Prof. Jenkins rejected the claim by ARS, saying, “Under sections 104, 104A, and 304 the term for works such as TinTin in the Land of the Soviets is 95 years from the date of first publication in the foreign country, not the date of first publication in the US.”
She continued in the email to me, “The US Copyright Act states that the term of US copyright over works ‘first published in an eligible country [such as those in Europe] and not published in the United States during the 30-day period following publication’ lasts for ‘the remainder of the term of copyright that the work would have otherwise been granted in the United States.’”
The Duke professor made clear that it does not matter that Tintin was only published in a foreign country in 1929, the work has still entered the public domain in the US as of 2025. “The US Copyright Office explains these rules clearly here (see 2003.2 et seq.) and here,” she said.
However, Prof. Jenkins did agree that Tintin “remains copyrighted in the EU.” This was not disputed in the reports of the comic entering the public domain, but sometimes left out of articles, including my own.
I decided to add a small note at the bottom of my Tintin article with the claim, linked back to this post, since the matter hasn’t been posted anywhere else. I asked for a public link or clarification from ARS, but they ignored my request.
Prof. Jenkins mentioned that she “already explained this to them,” which I see as ARS rejecting the popular legal interpretation here. While I was never threatened with any kind of legal takedown, I could foresee bigger Tintin projects in the US facing a lawsuit or legal challenge from ARS in the future.
Town Vs. Gown in New Orleans
An open letter to Tulane University and New Orleans says the university’s students need to be more respectful neighbors. Normally, I defend the university here, but the author was not saying the students should leave but they need to respect the community. I agree!
The author says, “The lack of adequate on-campus housing has pushed students into residential areas in growing number.” I also agree! This is a problem in a lot of college towns. One issue, though, is that often colleges face barriers to building dorms on their own land, pushing students out to off-campus housing. So we need to get rid of regulations and let colleges build dorms.
The author says that she is “a homeowner and resident near the epicenter of current fraternity activity” and that the “large gatherings” are loud and reckless. She says that on a recent Easter Sunday, “litter everywhere and trash cans overflowing with spent liquor containers and other remnants of recent parties.”
I do think that the author needs to have some introspection about choosing to live next to a university and fraternity houses to begin with, especially one that is considered a top party school in the country. But I also believe students should be mindful of neighborhoods, too. They shouldn’t leave the street strewn with trash after a big party.
I don’t even put the blame on the university either, student leaders need to step up. I am not saying they should never throw a party, but I do think fraternity bros should wake up early and clean up the street after one. I was a fraternity bro once and we tried to do this (sometimes we, admittedly, didn’t live up to it though).
Lacking two-way respect is the crux of so many town vs. gown arguments. Residents living next to a college should expect more rowdiness than in a typical neighborhood, but students should also take some responsibility for messes or other externalities.
Higher Ed Links
Wal-Mart is launching its own university. I am skeptical, but interested in the idea.
North Carolina officials want Duke U to close down Duke-Kunshan. Disappointing, but not surprising. I may try to drop in this summer on my China trip.
Professors are spit on AI usage for writing and doing research. I will have a longer take on this in the future, but I will at least say I use it for editing right now.
Elon Musk’s AI tool is plagued by politics. This is the exact kind of thing an AI Wrangler must know about.
Fayetteville, home to the University of Arkansas, is considering a new student-housing zoning code, rather than lumping in with the broader existing code. It seems this will just add restrictions to housing that is already hard to build. I do not like this.
Urbanism Links
Iconic Santa Monica Art Deco hotel closes. You know I am a sucker for Art Deco. I hope it can come back.
Some in San Diego are trying to undercut the city’s successful ADU program, but other residents want to save it.
Around Substack
Note: I also think it’s important to shout out some fellow Substackers whom I am reading here this week. Here are a few:
Journalist
writes about his relationship with the late-great Joseph Nye in China Story. Since I offered my tribute last week from a simple email, it was nice seeing a scholar from someone who knew him, espcially Nye’s relationship with Sinologist Ezra Vogel.
and on have an encompassing reading list of the urbanist community here on Substack. I am humbled to make the list with so many wonderful writers and thinkers in this space. Substack really is growing at writes about little things that can be done to be involved in civic life, partly inspired by new Pope Leo XIV. I am especially attuned to this message because I think too many people have been bogged down by doomer national news.When I asked him why he hadn’t made more of an effort to learn languages, especially Chinese, he did not deny or deflect so much as redirect the question. “Why do I need to spend my time on that? When I want to go to languages, I go to Ezra. He’s the best. He’s fluent in Chinese, fluent in Japanese.”
The unexpected response shed light on a long and close relationship
My inspiration to write about these issues now was another election, in Rome… Leo’s first papal address repeatedly invoked synodality, from Greek roots meaning to travel or journey together, which in context means a participatory Church with active roles for local leaders and lay people.
Note: No Finally… section this week! Thanks for reading.