Zorro Zorro Zorro (Spanish for "Fox") is a fictional character created in 1919 by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley, and appearing in works set in the Pueblo of Los Angeles during the era of Spanish California (1769–1821). He is typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante who defends the commoners and indigenous peoples of California against corrupt and tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costume includes a cape, a hat known as sombrero cordobés, and a mask covering the upper half of his face. In the stories, Zorro has a high bounty on his head, but is too skilled
Zorro still protected by copyright, but there are at least three exceptions: the 1919 novel "The Curse of Capistrano", the 1920 film "The Mark of Zorro" and the 1922 novel "The Further Adventures of Zorro" are in the public domain in the United States since they publicly appeared before 1923. A company called Zorro Productions, Inc., asserts that it "controls the worldwide trademarks and copyrights in the name, visual likeness and the character of Zorro." It further states "[t]he unauthorized, unlicensed use of the name, character and/or likeness of 'Zorro' is an infringement and a violation of state and federal laws."