Get ready to learn some fun facts about U.S. copyright law thanks to Mike Judge, as the creator of Beavis and Butt-Head is planning to reclaim ownership over his signature animated dumb-dumbs. Puck News reports that Judge’s lawyer has informed Paramount Skydance that he will be exercising his right to terminate the studio’s ownership over his characters.
Judge is able to do this because under the current law, creators are allowed to take back the rights to their work 35 years after a project’s debut. While Beavis and Butt-Head the series originally premiered in 1993, the original shorts featuring the characters were first aired in 1992. This means that at some point in 2027, Judge’s rights could revert back to him. This puts Judge in a particularly good negotiating position with Paramount, because since its revival in 2022 Beavis and Butt-Head is an active Comedy Central series, with a new season currently in production.
