Betty Boop, Nancy Drew, The Maltese Falcon, and a bunch of 1930 classics are officially entering public domain on January 1st, which means you can finally make whatever you want with them without getting sued. Except Fleischer Studios is already threatening legal action, claiming the original dog-eared Betty Boop from 1930 is just a "precursor" and they own the real version—even though a federal court said their ownership claim is bogus back in 2011. It's the same playbook as the Sherlock Holmes estate and the Happy Birthday copyright scam: they don't have to win in court, they just have to scare small creators into backing down.